The Green Bay Packers are one of the oldest and most storied franchises in all of professional sports. Throughout their 105 years of existence, literal dozens of Hall of Fame players have donned the Green and Gold (or Blue and Gold), and several more are probably deserving of enshrinement in Canton.
On Thursday night, the NFL Honors ceremony handed out the 2023 NFL regular season awards that saw Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson win his second career NFL MVP, almost guaranteeing that he is firmly on a path to the Hall of Fame himself. Cleveland Browns pass rusher Myles Garrett was awarded the Defensive Player of the Year Award, beating out former Wisconsin Badgers star TJ Watt.
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur finished ninth in Coach of the Year voting, an award that went to Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski (who beat Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans by a single vote). Texans quarterback CJ Stroud took home Offensive Rookie of the Year, an award that saw Packers wide receiver Jayden Reed receive a single third place vote.
Packers super fan Tom Grossi took home the NFL Fan of the Year Award. Last summer, he visited all 30 NFL stadiums in 30 days while raising over $500,000 for St. Jude. His PackCast on YouTube has over 600,000 subscribers.
Former Green Bay Packers Julius Peppers and Steve McMichael Were Elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
The biggest honor of the night in regards to the Packers, though, went to former players Julius Peppers and Steve McMichael, who were elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame along with Devin Hester, Dwight Freeney, Andre Johnson, Patrick Willis, and Randy Gradishar.
Both Peppers and McMichael are better known for their careers on other teams, but each stopped in Green Bay at some point during their Hall of Fame playing days.
Steve McMichael
Steve McMichael is best known for his 13 years with the Bears. He was a part of the historic 1985 Bears defense that is regarded by some as being the best in NFL history. That season, which was also the only season in which Chicago won the Super Bowl, McMichael earned the first of two First Team All Pro nods. He also earned two Second Team All Pro nominations and two Pro Bowls during his 15-year career.
While known as a member of the Bears, McMichael began his career with the New England Patriots in 1980and ended it with the Packers in 1994. He finished his career with 95.0 sacks and 847 tackles.
Julius Peppers
Julius Peppers played three seasons of his 17-year career with the Packers (2014-2016). He also spent four years with the Bears and 10 with the Carolina Panthers. Peppers finished his long career with 159.5 sacks, which officially ranks fourth all-time in NFL history.
Peppers was named to nine Pro Bowls, three First Team All Pros, and three Second Team All Pros. He won Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2002 and finished fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting twice. Furthermore, Peppers played on such a high level for so long that he was named to both the Hall Fame’s All 2000’s and 2010’s Teams.
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