It was the hit heard 'round the dairy state. Anthony Barr. October 15, 2017. U.S. Bank Stadium. When Aaron Rodgers hit the turf and clutched his right shoulder, the entire trajectory of the 2017 Green Bay Packers roster didn't just change—it basically disintegrated in real-time.
People remember the 7-9 record. They remember Brett Hundley struggling to find his footing. But if you look closer at how Mike McCarthy and Ted Thompson built this specific squad, there’s a much weirder, more frustrating story beneath the surface. This wasn't just a "quarterback got hurt" season. It was the year the cracks in the late-stage Thompson era became impossible to ignore. It was a roster caught between trying to "Reload" and accidentally "Rebuilding" while nobody was looking.
Honestly, the vibes were high early on. They were 4-1. Rodgers was playing like an MVP, and they’d just pulled off a vintage comeback against the Cowboys. Then the collarbone snapped, and the reality of a depth chart built on hope rather than proven talent came crashing down.
The Quarterback Room: A Trial by Fire
When Rodgers went down, the spotlight burned a hole right through Brett Hundley. The Packers had spent years grooming Hundley, a former UCLA star, as the "next big trade chip." Except, when the time came to actually play winning football, the gap between Rodgers' improvisation and Hundley's hesitation was a canyon.
Hundley finished the season with 9 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. That's the raw data. The eye test was worse. He’d hold the ball too long, scramble into sacks, and struggle with the complex sight adjustments that Rodgers handled in his sleep. Joe Callahan was the backup, a fan favorite from Wesley College who basically became a symbol of how thin the margin for error was. Green Bay didn't go out and get a veteran. They didn't call Colin Kaepernick—which was a massive talking point at the time—and they didn't look for a trade. They stayed the course, and it cost them.
The Backfield Revolution That Almost Saved Them
If there was one bright spot on the 2017 Green Bay Packers roster, it was the emergence of the "revolving door" at running back. Ty Montgomery started the year as the converted wide receiver project. He was shifty, he was fast, but his ribs just couldn't take the pounding of a full-time NFL workload.
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Enter the rookies.
Jamaal Williams and Aaron Jones. Think about that for a second. The Packers drafted three running backs that year (including Devante Mays), and two of them became franchise pillars. Aaron Jones, a fifth-round pick out of UTEP, showed flashes of greatness immediately. He had that 125-yard breakout against Dallas and another huge game against the Saints. But Mike McCarthy, in a move that still drives Packers fans crazy today, wouldn't fully commit to Jones over the more "reliable" Williams. Williams was the thumper, the pass protector. Jones was the home-run hitter. This backfield dynamic was one of the few things that actually worked, even if the coaching staff seemed hesitant to unleash it fully.
Receiving Corps: Davante's Ascension
2017 was the year Davante Adams officially became The Guy.
While Jordy Nelson was clearly losing a step—finishing with only 482 yards after Rodgers went down—Adams was the only one who could produce with Hundley under center. He hauled in 10 touchdowns and nearly 900 yards. It was a changing of the guard. Randall Cobb was still there, doing Randall Cobb things in the slot, but the explosiveness wasn't the same.
The tight end situation? Yikes.
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Martellus Bennett was supposed to be the "missing piece." The Packers rarely spent big in free agency, but they opened the checkbook for Bennett. It was a disaster. He played seven games, had zero touchdowns, complained about injuries, and eventually got cut/waived under "failure to disclose" circumstances before immediately re-signing with the Patriots. It was a bizarre, sour chapter that signaled the end of the "let's fix it with one veteran tight end" experiment that started with Jared Cook the year before.
The Defensive Identity Crisis
Dom Capers was the defensive coordinator, and by 2017, the "Fire Dom" chants had reached a fever pitch. The 2017 Green Bay Packers roster on defense was a mix of aging veterans and young DBs who couldn't stay healthy.
- Clay Matthews: Still the face of the defense, but the hair was longer than the stat sheet. He had 7.5 sacks, but the consistency wasn't there.
- Nick Perry: Coming off a huge contract year, he struggled with a club on his hand (as per usual) and couldn't replicate his double-digit sack production.
- Kenny Clark: This was the silver lining. Clark started turning into the absolute wrecking ball in the middle that we see today. He was only 22 and already dominating double teams.
The secondary was a mess. Damarious Randall and Quentin Rollins, two high draft picks, were struggling. Randall actually got sent to the locker room during a game against the Bears after a sideline blow-up. When your first-round cornerback is getting benched for attitude and performance, your culture is in trouble. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix was a Pro Bowler on paper, but the tape showed a safety who was increasingly hesitant to come up and hit.
Why This Roster Failed the "Next Man Up" Test
Green Bay’s philosophy under Ted Thompson was "Draft and Develop." It’s a great philosophy when you're hitting on your picks. But the 2015 and 2016 drafts were starting to look like ghosts.
When Rodgers was healthy, he masked the fact that the offensive line—led by stalwarts David Bakhtiari and Bryan Bulaga—was constantly shuffling due to injuries. Lane Taylor was solid at guard, but the depth behind them was nonexistent. Jahri Evans came in as a veteran guard and actually played incredibly well, considering he was at the end of his career, but he was a band-aid on a bullet wound.
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The 2017 season was a wake-up call. It proved that the roster was top-heavy. You had elite talent at QB, LT, and WR1, but the middle class of the roster—the special teamers, the rotational pass rushers, the backup tackles—had eroded.
The Aftermath of 2017
The fallout was immediate and scorched-earth.
- Ted Thompson was moved out of the General Manager role into an advisory position.
- Dom Capers was finally fired.
- Brian Gutekunst was promoted to GM, signaling a massive shift in how the Packers would handle free agency (leading to the "Smith Brothers" era later).
- Jordy Nelson was released in the ensuing offseason, a move that broke Aaron Rodgers' heart and signaled the end of an era.
The 2017 Green Bay Packers roster wasn't just a losing team; it was a catalyst. It was the season that forced the organization to realize that even a Hall of Fame quarterback can't carry a roster that has stopped evolving.
If you're looking back at this team, don't just look at the 7-9 record. Look at the snaps played by guys like Josh Jones, Justin Vogel, and Geronimo Allison. It was a team of "what ifs" and "not quites." It was the year the Packers' luck finally ran out, and the bill for years of conservative roster building finally came due.
What You Should Take Away From This
If you’re analyzing the 2017 squad for a deep dive or fantasy research or just pure nostalgia, keep these three things in mind:
- Injury Impact: It wasn't just Rodgers. Bulaga, Montgomery, and Kevin King (their top pick that year) all spent significant time on IR. The roster had no "floor."
- The Rookie Class: Despite the losing, the 2017 draft produced Aaron Jones and Kenny Clark (2016, but emerging), which are the only reasons the 2019-2021 runs were possible.
- Management Shift: This roster's failure is why the Packers became aggressive in free agency. Without the 2017 collapse, the team might have stayed stagnant for another three years.
For a real look at the numbers, check out the Pro Football Reference 2017 Packers page. It’s a sobering reminder that in the NFL, you’re only as good as your 40th man on the roster. In 2017, the 40th man wasn't ready for the call.