The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers have competed in the National Football League (NFL) since 1921, two years after their original founding by Curly Lambeau and George Whitney Calhoun.[1] They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) and play their home games at Lambeau Field in central Wisconsin.[2][3] The early era of the NFL and American football in general was not conducive to passing the football, with the forward pass not being legalized until the early 1900s and not fully adopted for many more years.[4] Although the quarterback position has historically been the one to receive the snap and thus handle the football on every offensive play,[5] the importance of the position during this era was limited by various rules, like having to be five yards behind the line of scrimmage before a forward pass could be attempted.[6] These rules and the tactical focus on rushing the ball limited the importance of the quarterback position while enhancing the value of different types of backs, such as the halfback and the fullback.[7] Some of these backs were considered triple-threat men, capable of rushing, passing or kicking the football, making it common for multiple players to attempt a pass during a game.[8]

As rules changed and the NFL began adopting a more pass-centric approach to offensive football, the importance of the quarterback position grew.[6][7] Beginning in 1950, total wins and losses by a team's starting quarterback were tracked.[9] Throughout the late 20th century and early 21st century, the significance of the position has grown exponentially.[7] The modern starting quarterback is often viewed as the leader of the team and its player spokesperson.[5] The position is often the highest paid player on an NFL team's roster, with teams assigning significant resources in trying to draft, acquire or trade for a franchise quarterback.[10][11] These resources are based on the high expectations placed on the position, which include handling the ball on every offensive play (whether it be to pass the ball or hand it off to another player), relaying plays (or sometimes calling plays themselves) to the offense and understanding every teammate's role, formation and responsibility for every play.[5] The emergence of the dual-threat quarterback has also seen additional focus on the position, with quarterbacks like Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen leading their team in both passing and rushing yards during any given game.[12]

Prior to 1950, the Packers had numerous players identified as playing the quarterback position, including Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Arnie Herber.[13] However, the combination of unreliable statistics in the early era of the NFL and the differences in the early quarterback position make tracking starts by quarterbacks impractical for this timeframe. Since 1950 however, the Packers have had 35 starting quarterbacks in the history of their franchise. Five of those quarterbacks each made over 70 starts and between them started over 75% of the team's games in that time period, with varying levels of success.[9] Tobin Rote, who started 73 games in the 1950s, and Lynn Dickey, who started in 101 games in the late 1970s and early 1980s, saw little on-field success.[14][15] However, Bart Starr, Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers all led the Packers to Super Bowl victories, with Starr winning five NFL championships in the 1960s.[16][17] All three quarterbacks were named the NFL's Most Valuable Player at least once in their careers.[18] Favre started the most games as quarterback for the Packers, both in the regular season (253) and during the playoffs (22).[19] He also never missed one start with the Packers, contributing to his NFL record of 321 consecutive starts by a quarterback.[20] After Favre was traded to the New York Jets, Rodgers took over as starting quarterback, a role he would hold for 15 seasons.[21][22] Combined, from Favre's first start in 1992 to Rodgers' last start in 2022, the two quarterbacks started 476 out of 495 possible regular season games.[9] After Rodgers was traded to the Jets in 2023, the Packers named Jordan Love starting quarterback for the 2023 NFL season.[23] Love started all 19 games (17 in the regular season and 2 in the playoffs) during his first season as starter in 2023. He continued as the team's primary starter, excluding missed starts due to injury, in 2024 and 2025.[24]

Starting quarterbacks

Key
† Inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame
‡ Inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of Fame

Regular season

Green Bay Packers starting quarterbacks in the regular season
Quarterback Seasons with
the Packers 		Seasons with at least
one start as QB 		Games
started 		Record Refs
W L T %[a]
Zeke Bratkowski † 1963–71 1966–68, 71 9 4 4 1 .500 [26][27]
Carlos Brown 1975–76 1976 3 0 3 0 .000 [28]
Jack Concannon 1974 1974 2 0 2 0 .000 [29]
Jim Del Gaizo 1973 1973 3 1 2 0 .333 [30]
Lynn Dickey † 1976–85 1976–77, 79–85 101 43 56 2 .436 [31][15]
Anthony Dilweg 1989–90 1990 7 2 5 0 .286 [32]
Brett Favre ‡ 1992–2007 1992–2007 253 160 93 0 .632 [19][17]
Matt Flynn 2008–11, 13–14 2008–11, 13 6 3 3 0 .500 [33]
Joe Francis 1958–59 1958 1 0 1 0 .000 [34]
John Hadl 1974–75 1974–75 19 7 12 0 .368 [35]
Don Horn 1967–70 1969–70 6 4 2 0 .667 [36]
Brett Hundley 2015–17 2017 9 3 6 0 .333 [37]
Scott Hunter 1971–73 1971–73 29 15 11 3 .569 [38]
Randy Johnson 1976 1976 1 1 0 0 1.000 [39]
Blair Kiel 1988–91 1990–91 2 0 2 0 .000 [40]
Jordan Love 2020–25 2022–25 48 27 20 1 .573 [24]
Don Majkowski † 1987–92 1987–92 49 22 26 1 .459 [41][42]
Lamar McHan 1959–60 1959–60 11 7 4 0 .636 [43]
Don Milan 1975 1975 1 0 1 0 .000 [44]
Babe Parilli 1952–53, 57–58 1952–53, 57–58 14 3 11 0 .214 [45]
Alan Risher 1987 1987 3 2 1 0 .667 [46]
John Roach 1961–63 1963 4 3 1 0 .750 [47]
Aaron Rodgers 2005–22 2008–22 223 147 75 1 .661 [22]
Tobin Rote † 1950–56 1950–56 73 26 46 1 .363 [48][14]
Bart Starr ‡ 1956–71 1956–71 157 94 57 6 .618 [49][16]
Jerry Tagge 1972–74 1973–74 12 6 6 0 .500 [50]
Bobby Thomason 1951 1951 4 0 1 0 .000 [51]
Scott Tolzien 2013–15 2013 2 0 1 1 .250 [52]
Mike Tomczak 1991 1991 7 2 5 0 .286 [53]
Clayton Tune 2025 2025 1 0 1 0 .000 [54]
Seneca Wallace 2013 2013 1 0 1 0 .000 [55]
David Whitehurst 1977–83 1977–79, 81 37 16 20 1 .446 [56]
Malik Willis 2024 2024 2 2 1 0 .667 [57]
Randy Wright 1984–88 1984–88 32 7 25 0 .219 [58]
Jim Zorn 1985 1985 5 3 2 0 .600 [59]

Postseason

Green Bay Packers starting quarterbacks in the postseason
Quarterback Seasons with
the Packers 		Seasons with at least
one start as QB 		Games
started 		Record Refs
W L %[a]
Lynn Dickey † 1976–85 1982 2 1 1 .500 [31][15]
Brett Favre ‡ 1992–2007 1993–98, 2001–04, 07 22 12 10 .545 [19][17]
Scott Hunter 1971–73 1972 1 0 1 .000 [38]
Jordan Love 2020–25 2023–25 3 1 3 .250 [24]
Aaron Rodgers 2005–22 2009–16, 19–21 21 11 10 .524 [22]
Bart Starr ‡ 1956–71 1960–62, 65–67 10 9 1 .900 [49][16]

See also

Notes

  1. Winning percentage is determined by dividing total wins by total games started, with ties counting as one-half win.[25]

References

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  2. "2023 NFL Division Standings". NFL.com. Archived from the original on June 4, 2022.
  3. Lewis, Robert (December 4, 2023). "Lambeau Field". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on September 12, 2023.
  4. "Passing Through Time, a 1930s Rule Change Started the NFL on its Way to Wide Open Offense". ProFootballHoF.com. July 31, 2018. Archived from the original on November 28, 2023.
  5. Rumpff, Tim (director) (July 12, 2023). Quarterback (Television show). Netflix. Archived from the original on February 9, 2024.
  6. "Bent but not Broken". NFL.com. Archived from the original on February 17, 2024.
  7. Hogg, Curt (December 24, 2009). "5 Wide: The Evolution Of The Quarterback". BleacherReport.com. Archived from the original on February 2, 2024.
  8. Christl, Cliff. "Paul Hornung". Packers.com. Archived from the original on June 7, 2023.
  9. "Green Bay Packers Career Passing Leaders". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on November 17, 2023.
  10. "Highest-paid NFL players: Tracking most money guaranteed, per year at every position". ESPN.com. March 6, 2024. Archived from the original on February 29, 2024.
  11. Laughlin, Alex (November 14, 2023). "The Cost (and Dangers) of Buying a Quarterback". Berkeley.edu. Archived from the original on March 11, 2024.
  12. Epstein, Jori (January 26, 2024). "How Josh Allen helped Chiefs prepare for '3D' threat in Ravens' Lamar Jackson". Yahoo.com. Archived from the original on March 1, 2024.
  13. Christl, Cliff. "Arnie Herber". Packers.com. Archived from the original on October 3, 2023.
  14. Christl, Cliff. "Tobin Rote". Packers.com. Archived from the original on June 8, 2023.
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  32. "Anthony Dilweg Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on October 2, 2023.
  33. "Matt Flynn Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on April 21, 2023.
  34. "Joe Francis Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on February 9, 2023.
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  36. "Don Horn Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on October 9, 2022.
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  45. "Babe Parilli Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on September 29, 2022.
  46. "Alan Risher Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on October 11, 2008.
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  51. "Bobby Thomason Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 22, 2023.
  52. "Scott Tolzien Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on September 24, 2023.
  53. "Mike Tomczak Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on May 16, 2023.
  54. "Clayton Tune Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  55. "Seneca Wallace Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on May 1, 2023.
  56. "David Whitehurst Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on February 2, 2023.
  57. "Malik Willis Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  58. "Randy Wright Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on October 15, 2023.
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