GREEN BAY — Having seen what they wanted to see from Vince Young, the Green Bay Packers released incumbent No. 2 quarterback Graham Harrell on Saturday afternoon in favor of Vince Young, who certainly made an impression with his performance in the Packers' 17-10 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
ESPN.com was first to report that Harrell had been released, and an NFL source confirmed the move shortly thereafter. Harrell spent two seasons as the Packers' No. 3 quarterback on the practice squad — he was elevated to the 53-man roster late in the 2010 season after Aaron Rodgers' second concussion — before becoming Rodgers' primary backup last season following the free-agent departure of Matt Flynn.
Against the Seahawks, Harrell completed just 6 of 13 passes for 49 yards (56.2 rating) while playing behind the No. 1 offensive line after Rodgers called it a night after one series of action. Harrell also played with starting tight end Jermichael Finley, wide receiver James Jones and running back Eddie Lacy at his disposal against the Seahawks' No. 1 defense.
Young played with the No. 2 offensive line to open the second half and had D.J. Williams and a mix of young receivers with him as he completed 6 of 7 passes for 41 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown to fullback Jonathan Amosa, for a passer rating of 130.7. Young also runs of 21 and 18 yards. His second series was derailed when he couldn't handle an errant snap from center Patrick Lewis.
Jason Wilde wrote: