Green Bay Packers Hall of Famer Gilbert Brown Identifies the 1 Thing the Team Needs to Find This Offseason

The Green Bay Packers are going to look very different in 2023 than they have for, well, the past 15 years. Aaron Rodgers is going to be traded to the New York Jets and 24-year old Jordan Love will take over as Green Bay’s starting quarterback. Additionally, several key veterans have left via free agency: Allen Lazard to the Jets; Robert Tonyan to the Chicago Bears; and Dean Lowry to the Minnesota Vikings. Additionally, it sounds like Packers’ all-time leading scorer Mason Crosby will not be back with the team next season. With so many changes, Green Bay Hall of Famer Gilbert Brown identified the single most important thing the Packers need to add this offseason.

The Green Bay Packers Need to Find a Leader

As some may know, Gilbert Brown has a weekly radio segment that he does on The Earl Ingram Show. During his interview on Monday, he talked about how the Packers can retool, not rebuild, and what they need to do to be the best team going forward. The one thing that he identified as most important is to find a veteran leader:

“I wouldn’t say the cupboard is bare, but I mean, maturity wise, the second year for all of these guys, how do you mature? How do you use your offseason to get better? It’s goes back to that conversation we had with George Koonce about leadership. We got to have a leadership in that locker room.”

Earl Ingram then asked Gilbert which current Packers players could be that leader:

“Nobody. Nobody in that locker can do it. I’m sure they can try, but you need a great leader in that locker room. A well known leader. [Aaron] Rodgers had the capability of being a leader, of being a veteran leader in that locker room among young men. We need a veteran leader.”

Ingram offered up Aaron Jones as a possible leader on the Packers’ current roster, arguing that even Gilbert Brown was impressed with him when he spoke. Gilbert responded:

“I’m not saying he can’t, but here’s the thing: you can’t just go and pick some guy off the tree and say, ‘You’re a leader.’ You cannot do that. You need a guy, you need a well-known veteran to lead this team at any position.”

Gilbert challenged Ingram and listeners to think about the Packers’ last two Super Bowl winning teams. Reggie White was the undisputed leader of the Super Bowl XXXI team. Charles Woodson was the undisputed leader of the Super Bowl XLV team. What did both of those players have in common? They were players that Green Bay went out and signed in free agency.

Are There Any Leaders of that Caliber Available on the Free Agent Market?

There is no doubt that the Packers currently do not have a leader that is in the same mold as Reggie White and Charles Woodson. This is not meant to be an insult to any of the current players. White and Woodson were remarkable leaders. That is not something that is easily matched.

The problem, at least this season, is twofold: Green Bay does not have the money to get an established respected player of that caliber and the free agent market is relatively light in terms of those kinds of players. The ones who might have been the ideal fit, players like Bobby Wagner who have played in Super Bowls, have already signed with other teams.

Therefore, the Packers will need to hope that one of their current veterans, someone like Aaron Jones, can emerge as the player who can motivate and encourage players no matter what position they play. The fact of the matter is that Green Bay has plenty of leaders among their position groups, but no one that transcends them. This will be a big test for their player captains this year. We’ll see who, if anyone, emerges.

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