Green Bay Packers: Best players that were traded away

Post-2000s trades

Now we get into the section of the article where young people like me will better remember these players. Admittedly, it is mostly for the teams that they played for after the Green Bay Packers, but I have seen them play nonetheless.

Terry Glenn

Terry Glenn only played one season in Green Bay and made much bigger contributions for his other teams, the New England Patriots and Dallas Cowboys. In his lone season with the Packers,  he caught 56 passes for 817 yards and two touchdowns. Those were solid stats, but he spent multiple productive seasons with his other teams.

With the Patriots, he was a part of the 1996 All-Rookie team and then made a Pro Bowl appearance in 1999. He was then traded to the Packers for a fourth round pick. The frustration comes when we notice that the Packers traded him for only a sixth rounder just a year later. They lost two rounds of value even after he had a solid season.

With the Cowboys, Glenn did a lot of things that Lofton did with the Green Bay Packers. He had two seasons of over 1,000 receiving yards and led the league in yards per catch once with 18.3. He also ran the ball nine times for 59 yards, an average of 6.6 yards per carry, and one touchdown. He also threw the ball twice but did not complete either of them.

Terry Glenn’s tenure with the Packers was short, but his career with his other teams and the value lost from trading for him and trading him away make this one hurt.

Mike McKenzie

The fact that Mike Mckenzie never made a Pro Bowl is crazy when looking at his career stats. His rookie year, he had six interceptions and 18 passes defended to go along with 65 total tackles from the cornerback position.

Before being traded mid-season in 2004, he only had under 12 passes defended in a season once. That season he only played in ten games. He had a total of 15 interceptions, two returned for touchdowns, and 71 passes defended with Green Bay. In 2003 he had a fantastic playoffs when he defended eight passes in two games, forced two fumbles, and had a sack. He was a man on a mission that season and wanted to win a Super Bowl, but never got there with the Packers.

While he did not play in the 2009 playoffs or Super Bowl that the New Orleans Saints won, he did get a ring that year in his last season because of the five games he played in the regular season.

He had very similar production in New Orleans as he did in Green Bay. He totaled 13 interceptions and 51 passes defended with the Saints. In 2007, he had three interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns. He was fourth in interception return yards that year with 161, an average of 53.7 yards per interception return.

Matt Hasselbeck

Matt Hasselbeck spent two years in Green Bay studying under the great Brett Favre. Then, once his training was complete, he was sent to Seattle to begin his career as a starting quarterback. He threw only 29 passes for the Packers in regular season play.

After a tough first two seasons with the Seahawks, he was finally given the reigns to start all 16 games in 2003. He responded well, leading his team to a 10-6 record and making the Pro Bowl. His team’s success truly depended on how well he did under center as the only seasons he won 10 games or more as the starting quarterback were his three Pro Bowl seasons.

Of the 10 years he spent with the Seahawks, they made the playoffs six times, including one Super Bowl appearance in 2005. He never did a lot of flashy things. He never threw for over 4,000 yards in a single season and had Shaun Alexander to lean on for much of his Seattle tenure, but he was a winner. His teams won games and that is worth something as a starting quarterback in the NFL.

He is part of the fairly long list of quarterbacks to play behind Brett Favre and succeed later, which also includes Mark Brunell and, of course, Aaron Rodgers. In his later years in Tennesse and Indianapolis, he didn’t have much talent or skill left, but his teams still won. He was 11-10 as a starter with the Titans and 5-3 with the Colts.

Hasselbeck learned how to play winning football from Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers early in his career, and winning followed him wherever he went for his next 15 years as an NFL quarterback.

Who was your favorite player that was traded away or anyone you thought should have been on this list? Let me know in the comments below or @DairylandXpress.