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Three former Packers make ESPN’s 2019 All-Retirement Team

By Freddie Boston

GREEN BAY, WI - DECEMBER 24: Jordy Nelson #87 of the Green Bay Packers celebrates a touchdown during the first quarter of a game against the Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field on December 24, 2016 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
GREEN BAY, WI - DECEMBER 24: Jordy Nelson #87 of the Green Bay Packers celebrates a touchdown during the first quarter of a game against the Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field on December 24, 2016 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /
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Three former Green Bay Packers players made ESPN’s 2019 All-Retirement Team.

Imagine how good the current Green Bay Packers roster would be if it featured Jordy Nelson, T.J. Lang and Julius Peppers all in their prime.

All three players retired from football at the end of the 2018 season after incredible careers.

Jeremy Fowler of ESPN has put together a team of players who retired from the NFL this offseason — the 2019 NFL All-Retirement Team — and Nelson, Lang and Peppers are all included.

And all three players made a huge impact in Green Bay.

Nelson will go down as one of the greatest wide receivers in franchise history. And the Aaron Rodgers-to-Jordy Nelson connection is an all-time great.

Nelson helped the Packers win a championship in 2010, putting up 140 yards and a touchdown in the victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV. And he also helped the Packers win a lot of games throughout his career, finishing with 7,848 receiving yards and 69 touchdowns in nine seasons.

Lang, along with Josh Sitton, gave the Packers the league’s number one duo at guard for many years. Lang was also part of the Super Bowl-winning team in 2010, and he was a Pro Bowler in Green Bay in 2016, and then a year later with the Detroit Lions.

The Packers would certainly love to have Lang in his prime on the current roster.

By the time Peppers signed with the Packers, he’d already had a Hall-of-Fame career. But in just three seasons for Green Bay, he made a huge impact on defense.

Peppers didn’t miss a game, making 113 tackles, 25 sacks and 45 quarterback hits in that time. He also forced eight fumbles and had two interceptions, and he returned both for touchdowns.

Peppers’ biggest play came in the divisional round of the 2014 season. He saved a long DeMarco Murray touchdown by forcing a fumble, and it kept Green Bay in the game. They went on to win and advance to the NFC Championship Game, but it likely wouldn’t have happened without Peppers’ incredible play.

Nelson, Lang and Peppers were teammates for the Packers, so it’s no surprise the team went 12-4 in 2014.

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