Green Bay Packers: 50 greatest players in franchise history

Greatest players in Green Bay Packers history: 3. Reggie White

Simply put. There may never be another football player the caliber of Reggie White. When it comes to evaluating non-quarterback talent, few, if any, can honestly approach White as an all-time player. He’s arguably the greatest player in Philadelphia Eagles history, as well as the greatest defensive player to have come through Green Bay.

White played for his home state’s Tennessee Volunteers in college and the USFL’s Memphis Showboats before coming to the NFL in the 1985. He was already a seven-time first team All-Pro with the Eagles before White arrived in Green Bay as the first big free agent in NFL history in 1993. He left the City of Brotherly Love for the Frozen Tundra on a four-year deal worth $17 million.

White played the next six seasons of his hall of fame career with the Packers. While in Green Bay, he made three more All-Pro first teams, three All-Pro second teams, six additional Pro Bowls and won NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1998. White won Super Bowl XXXI as a member of the Packers and went to Super Bowl XXXII in 1998 before briefly retiring. He would return for one final year as a member of the 2000 Carolina Panthers.

Tragically, White passed away the day after Christmas 2004 from cardiac arrhythmia. Posthumously, his No. 92 jersey was retired by the University of Tennessee, the Eagles and the Packers. White made the NFL’s 75th Anniversary Team, the NFL’s All-Decade Team for the 1980s and the 1990s. He has been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. White was posthumously enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006. His Canton classmates include Troy Aikman, Harry Carson and Warren Moon.