Best Green Bay Packers player to wear No. 90 made an assistant coach quit

Welcome back to Lombardi Ave's series highlighting the greatest Green Bay Packers players to wear every jersey number from No. 0 to No. 99.

With the single digits, teens, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s now all officially in the books, we've obviously got just one more group to go, and we'll kick things off here at No. 90 with one of the best pass rushers in franchise history, albeit one who had his ups and downs with the front office and even got an assistant coach to resign his position.

But before we break all of that down, of course, let's first run through our routine of looking at everyone who's worn No. 90 for the Green & Gold over the years.

Montravius Adams, DT
Tony Bennett, LB
Colin Cole, DT
Jack Heflin, DT
Nate Hill, DE
Darius Holland, DT
Vonnie Holliday, DE
Ezra Johnson, DE
Willie Manley, OL
Steve McMichael, DT
Chukie Nwokorie, DE
B.J. Raji, DL
Jarran Reed, DT
Lukas Van Ness, LB

While the selection here was a no-brainer, there are certainly a few others on this list who deserve to be mentioned.

There's Tony Bennett, who played four strong seasons in Green Bay from 1990 to 1993 and racked up 36.0 sacks. You've got Vonnie Holliday, who played five seasons in Titletown from 1998 to 2002 and tallied 32.0 sacks. And then there's B.J. Raji, who spent six seasons with the Packers (technically seven, but he missed the 2014 campaign) and recorded 11.0 sacks.

But again, this was a no-brainer, as the winner here at No. 90 is easily Ezra Johnson.

Ezra Johnson racked up 82.0 sacks in 11 seasons with the Green Bay Packers

While Johnson spent his collegiate career at a very small school in Morris Brown College, an HBCU in Georgia that had a total enrollment of only about 1,500, the Packers selected him in the first round of the 1977 NFL Draft with the 28th overall pick.

Outside of the small-school status, the first-round selection was considered by many to be a big gamble for Green Bay, as some thought the 6-foot-4, 240-pounder was far too small to play defensive end at the professional level.

But it didn't take Johnson long to prove his haters wrong. After serving in a reserve role as a rookie, he cracked the starting lineup in his second season at right defensive end. And what he may have lacked in size for his position, he made up for it with blistering speed and earned a trip to the Pro Bowl after racking up a ridiculous 17.5 sacks, finishing second in the NFL behind only the Detroit Lions' Budda Baker (23.0).

Yes, we're aware that sacks didn't become an official stat until the 1982 season, but as our friends at Pro Football Reference have unofficial totals dating back to 1960, which we trust without question, we've got numbers to use.

While Johnson never quite got back to that level, although he did get close with 14.5 sacks in 1983, and never earned another Pro Bowl selection, he was a solid player for the Packers for a long time, ultimately playing 11 years in Green Bay.

But as mentioned above, that 11-year run didn't come without controversy.

His most infamous incident came during the 1980 preseason, when, during a 38-0 defeat to the Denver Broncos, he was seen on the sidelines eating a hot dog.

Legendary quarterback Bart Starr was both the head coach and the general manager at that time, and while he fined Johnson $1,000 and forced him to apologize to the team, he did not suspend him. And because Starr didn't suspend him, defensive line coach Fred von Appen flat-out quit. And von Appen certainly couldn't have been happy if and when he found out that Starr returned the $1,000 to Johnson at the end of the season.

Injuries hindered the last few years of Johnson's tenure in Green Bay, and he left the franchise following the 1987 season. He still played four more years after that, however, spending two seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and another two with the Houston Oilers to close out his career.

In his 11 seasons with the Packers, Johnson tallied 82.0 sacks, which currently stand as the third-most in team history, trailing only Willie Davis' 99.5 and Clay Matthews' 83.5. Despite some of the turbulent times with the organization, he was eventually welcomed back and was inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in 1997.

Other Green Bay Packers jersey honorees

This list will be updated daily until all 100 entries are complete, so be sure to check back in with Lombardi Ave for updates.

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Ezra Johnson racked up 82.0 sacks in 11 seasons with the Green Bay Packers

Other Green Bay Packers jersey honorees

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