The Green Bay Packers have built plenty of rivalries, and as they have never been stronger as they head into the 2025 season. The Detroit Lions' resurgence has made them the No. 1 target in the NFC North, while the Minnesota Vikings swept the season series against Green Bay. Even the last-place Chicago Bears have some fuel on the fire after upsetting the Packers in Week 18 of the 2024 season.
With such strong feelings toward their rivals, there’s bound to be some villains along the way. One player that became a major adversary during his playing career officially wrapped things up with an announcement on Saturday morning and ended one of the most high-profile player vs. team battles in Packers history.
Former Packers Rival Ndamukong Suh Announces His Retirement
Ndaumukong Suh, who spent five of his 13 seasons in the NFL with the Lions, officially announced his retirement in a post on X Saturday morning. Suh explained that his decision to retire was years in the making, but he made the decision to retire on the one-year anniversary of his father’s death.
“He was my first coach, my greatest teacher, and the man who shaped not just my mindset, but my mission,” Suh wrote. “Before he passed, he asked me to step away from the game. He believed I had accomplished what I set out to do, and that my next chapter would be even greater. Today I’m honoring that wish. Football gave me purpose. It gave me opportunity. It gave me a platform. And now I’m stepping into a new season, one where I use that platform to educate, empower and elevate others on their path to financial freedom.”
July 12, 2024 was the hardest day of my life.
— Ndamukong Suh (@NdamukongSuh) July 12, 2025
It’s the day I said goodbye to my father, the man who raised me, shaped me, challenged me, and believed in me before I believed in myself.
He wasn’t just a dad. He was my idol, my coach, and my anchor.
He taught me what it meant to… pic.twitter.com/WkefQaDrsQ
Suh was one of the most feared pass rushers in the NFL, logging 71.5 sacks during his career and winning a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020. While Suh has plenty of accolades as a three-time First Team All-Pro selection, five-time Pro Bowl honors, and the 2010 Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, he’s most remembered by Packers fans for being an instigator.
A shove and stomp to Packers offensive lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith during a game on Thanksgiving in 2011 earned him a two-game suspension from the NFL. Suh landed in more hot water when he stepped on Aaron Rodgers’s ankle during a Week 17 meeting during the 2014 season.
Suh collected 5.5 sacks and a 6-7 record in his 13 meetings with the Packers but was one of their biggest villains as Green Bay moved through the 2010s. While his post-playing career is tailored to giving financial advice, including a recently launched podcast entitled “No Free Lunch,” most in Green Bay will remember him as one of their biggest adversaries.