Compared to most NFL teams, the Green Bay Packers have had the rare luxury of stability. From 1992 until 2022 – three decades – the Packers had, essentially, two starting quarterbacks (apologies, Matt Flynn and Brett Hundley). In that same timeframe, the Cleveland Browns, by contrast, had roughly three dozen starting quarterbacks. This reliability and excellence at the game’s top position, combined with the Packers well known “draft and develop” team building strategy, meant that the Packers had teams, and position groups, that maintained a remarkable consistency, that evolved even deeper – into an identity.
Who can forget the Packers offensive line group with Clifton, Winters, Rivera, and Wahle, or the receiver group with guys like Brooks, Freeman, Ferguson, and Driver? Somewhere along the draft and develop journey those offensive line names shifted to Bakhtiari, Lang, Sitton, and Bulaga, and the receivers to Jennings, Adams, Nelson, and Cobb. On the defensive side of the ball we had well recognized names like Barnett, Brown, Butler, Sharper, and later, Matthews, Williams, Raji, Alexander, etc.
I bring all of these names up not to dwell in the past, but rather, to recognize it, and to draw a sharp contrast to the present. Because when I look at the entirety of the 2025 Packers roster, the question I come back to again and again is: Who really are these guys?
Start with the offense, and the leader of that offense – Jordan Love. In just two years at the helm, we’ve seen plenty of flashes. The 2023 comeback vs the Saints showed Love’s moxie and leadership. The playoff run that same year showed that Love could thrive in the bright lights. Playing through injury the following year (and guiding the Packers back to the playoffs), showed Love’s grit. But alongside the many highlights are some costly mistakes that have, thus far, prevented Love from being mentioned among the NFL’s quarterback elite. There’s a sense among the Packers fan base (a sentiment I share) that Love will eventually ascend into that upper tier, very possibly this year. But for now, Love’s young story is still largely incomplete.
Love isn’t alone. In fact, he’s surrounded by question marks. Christian Watson, can he stay healthy? How good is Matthew Golden? Luke Musgrave? Dontayvion Wicks? Mecole Hardman? Will Sheppard? And what the heck will LaFleur do with Savion Williams? Will he play some running back? And speaking of running backs, what about MarShawn Lloyd? Even the offensive line, which could be the team’s best and deepest position group, has questions: where does Jordan Morgan slot in? How will Jenkins work out at center? Will Belton play? And what do we have in the $77 million man, Aaron Banks?
The other side of the ball might be an even bigger mystery. Is this the year Rashan Gary finally becomes the consistent wrecking ball we’ve all been pining for? Does Van Ness take the next step? What about Brenton Cox? Or what about the new guys: Oliver, Sorrell, Stackhouse? And what’s the ceiling for Cooper, who seems like an absolute game wrecker? And remember his running mate, Ty’Ron Hopper? The secondary, McKinney aside, might be the biggest question mark of all – Bullard and Williams are promising but still mostly unknown safeties, and the still-taking-shape cornerback room, led by a feisty newcomer, Nate Hobbs, is a patchwork quilt of perplexity, even featuring a guy who was catching passes just a few months ago.
There are questions almost everywhere, which isn’t entirely surprising for a team with the NFL’s youngest roster (average age of 24.8 years). On the one hand, the unknowns are very exciting because there’s a lot of room to imagine “what could be” but it’s also jarring in a way because for the first time in a very long time, Packers fans (if they’re being honest) don’t truly know what’s ahead of them. Interestingly enough, the rival Vikings and Bears are in somewhat similar situations, which only adds to the wonder of it all.
One thing that isn’t a mystery in Green Bay is tradition. The great Vince Lombardi once said, "Winning isn't everything; the will to win is the only thing". I believe our front office lives that philosophy and I’m confident they’ve assembled a terrific group of young, athletic, and motivated players. Led by a smart and dedicated group of coaches, they are ready to write the next great chapter of Green Bay Packers football. To quote another Packers coach, "It is time. It is time."