Green Bay Packers: Who wore this number best? #96

With 96 days left until the Green Bay Packers travel to Jacksonville for the start of the NFL season, our countdown to the big day, Sunday, Sept. 11, will focus on the number that represents the days remaining … today it’s #96.

Most recently, #96 was worn by Purdue alum Mike Neal, but in the past has been worn by others …

When talking about Green Bay Packers uniform number, we highly recommend “Packers by the Numbers: Jersey Numbers and the Players Who Wore Them,” by John Maxymuk.

The book, which chronicles every Packers jersey number was published in 2003, so it’s a bit incomplete, but it provides a strong background of information about Packers players and their jersey numbers up to that point in time.

The first to wear the number, according to Maxymuk, was Tony Leiker in 1987. And while the most notable player to wear the number since 1950 was Super Bowl champion Sean Jones, it was a different Sean – Paterson – who wore the number the longest, a fact that may be a bit unbelievable.

The author also considers Paterson as one of the players to forget – he was a second round draft pick who was a big disappointment. Hi production didn’t match his expectations.

Today we’ll take a look at Mike Neal and Sean Jones.

Next: Mike Neal … a #96 who has been adaptable