Packers of the Past: Much-Maligned Randy Wright
Green Bay quarterback of the 1980s couldn’t quite get the job done.
By Kevin Gibson
Some Packers fans rooted hard for him. Others hated him.
Whatever your stance may be, the truth is former Green Bay Packers quarterback Randy Wright didn’t exactly have a good situation in Green Bay. And he was never one of those types of athletic and cerebral quarterbacks who could will his team to win.
Not that he had much of a team.
In 1986, his lone year as the unquestioned starter, Wright threw for 3,247 yards, with 17 touchdowns and (gulp) 23 interceptions. Let’s face it, it was easier to live with interceptions when it was Brett Favre throwing them. But I digress.
Drafted in the sixth round of the NFL draft, the former Wisconsin quarterback came to the team presumptively to be the backup to Lynn Dickey, who had a prolific career in green and gold, even if there wasn’t a lot of winning involved.
But Dickey spent a lot of time on the training table, so Wright got some playing time and spot starts his first two seasons. At times, he would come off the bench and move the ball. He showed enough that then-head coach Forrest Gregg anointed Wright the starter for that 1986 season, only to see the Packers go 4-12. Yuck.
USA Today even once included ol’ No. 16 in its list of the worst quarterbacks for every team in history. The article even notes that the Packers’ winning percentage was .218 in games Wright started.
But, as noted above, some Packers fans rooted for Wright and wanted him to succeed. I was one of those fans. I eagerly watched one game in particular in 1987 against the Bears and honestly believed Wright had turned the corner – or was at least about to.
The former Wisconsin Badger was 20 of 41 passing for 298 yards and a pair of touchdowns, one to Phillip Epps and one to Ed West. WIth a minute left on the clock, the Packers drove for what seemed to be a game-winning field goal.
But then the Packers’ defense couldn’t stop Jim McMahon and the Bears, and Kevin Butler kicked a 47-yard game-winning field goal as time expired. Final score: Bears 26, Packers 24. Just heartbreaking.
“I wasn’t an Aaron Rodgers or a Brett Favre or a Walter Payton, so I always had to approach things differently,” Wright said in a 2018 interview. “I knew I wasn’t a great athlete … but there are a lot more athletes like me than there are like Aaron Rodgers, Brett Favre or Walter Payton.”
Another aspect of Wright’s career that fans probably remember is that he got hit. A lot. And hard. In that same interview, he recalls getting sacked by Giants great Lawrence Taylor.
Wright recalled that Taylor told him, “Randy, don’t try and get away when I got you. I’m going to lay you down soft, I’m not going to hurt you, but if you try to run away, I’m going to have to slam you.”
“I looked at him and said, ‘Yes, Sir,’” Wright said.
One of the knocks on Wright during his playing days, besides his lack of superior skills, was that he wasn’t necessarily well liked by all of his teammates or the media. This, according to Cliff Christl, who covered the team at the time.
He recalls in that article that he wrote a highly critical story about the quarterback in 1988, after the Packers went 0-5 to start the season with Wright at the helm. It was clear Wright had lost the team, and he soon was benched in favor of Don Majkowski. Christl even said Head Coach Lindy Infante pulled him aside and told him he’d made it impossible for him to go back to Wright as the starter.
In any case, it spelled the end. Wright would be cut before the 1989 season and his NFL career was over. He got over it, though – he did some broadcasting for Big 10 Football and also started what became a successful business in retirement. He also stepped back into football as a coach for his son’s high school team in the early 2010s, before ultimately starting a business that holds football camps with a partner named Jeff Trickey.
For the record, I still have my Randy Wright jersey that I purchased in 1987. Still fits too.
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Kevin Gibson is a professional writer and author based in Louisville, Ky. He's also a former sports writer who covered high school, college and professional sports, a Packers shareholder and a fan since 1975. Even John Hadl couldn't break him. Follow him on Twitter: @kgramone
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Comments (28)
Savage57
April 10, 2026 at 07:56 am
I don't know what prompted writing this article, but it induced flashbacks to some pretty wretched times as a Packers fan.
So much for trying to kick day drinking.
Cheezehead72
April 10, 2026 at 07:57 am
I believe he is preparing us or at least trying to tell us it could be worse.
GreenandBold
April 10, 2026 at 02:23 pm
Looks like I picked the wrong day to give up sniffing glue .
Starrbrite
April 11, 2026 at 09:13 pm
Wretched—good word!
ricky
April 10, 2026 at 08:22 am
The '70's and '80's were a very trying time for Packers fans. I still remember when the team was scrambling for a QB, traded for Jim Del Gaizo from Miami. Or the time they did the Lawrence Welk trade for a 34-year-old John Hadl. The front office had no clue, hanging onto Bart Starr well past his prime, and then wasting draft choices on Jerry Tagge, and later trying Tim Crouch and Tim Couch.
How bad was the team? They were so painfully bad that I actually stopped watching games for a couple of seasons. The Packers were and still are my team, but it's like seeing your best friend get hooked on cocaine and booze, marry badly and have constant run-ins with the law. After a while, you retreat and hope things will improve, but know you can't help in any meaningful way.
jannesbjornson
April 10, 2026 at 02:22 pm
I remember Bart and Co. passing on Joe Montana three times in the 1979 Draft which we followed via Radio.
Many of us were calling the Packer Office, enraged....
GreenandBold
April 10, 2026 at 02:27 pm
I know I zoned out for a long period until Majkowski started working his magic caught my attention again .
mrtundra
April 10, 2026 at 08:32 am
I remember the 1986 game vs the vikings, in the Metrodome, where Vince Ferragamo came in and threw a TD pass to Mark Lewis, to give the Packers their only score of the game. Packers lost 42-7. 1986 was a bad year, for the Packers. This, BTW, was the game where Randy Wright fainted, from exhaustion, as it was reported. Ferragamo came in and scored as Lewis got wide open in the left side of the end zone.
LeotisHarris
April 10, 2026 at 08:37 am
I enjoy reading your flashback articles, Kevin. Those were lean years, and Wright certainly did his part in achieving those, um, milestones. And, good on you for finding a Wright jersey back in the day. Leotisette was born in 1986 and there wasn't Packer gear available for purchase like there is now. No bibs, ,no onsies, no kiddo clothes at Shopko.
I'd be interested in what BJ Raji is doing now. An update on Leotis Harris would be welcome, too.
HarryHodag
April 10, 2026 at 09:01 am
My most vivid memory of Randy Wright was watching Howie Long from the Raiders pick him up be the shoulders and pants and throw him around like a rag doll.
The defenses of the era were wretched but what bothered me the most was watching a bad offensive line year in and year out. What was equally galling was watching them come back each year asking for more money then holding out during training camp. Lamar Jackson couldn't have done much with that offensive line.
What holds true today is selecting the best players is key to winning, not just who the coach is. The fans tend to get on the coach but without a smattering of 'blue chip' players, you're just an also-ran. The Packers of the 70's and 80's had awful personnel people. There was no Jack Vanisi in the late '50's who selected so many of the great Lombardi-era players. Bart Starr and the rest kept picking and acquiring folks who were never as good as portrayed. Randy Wright, Wisconsin's own, was one of them.
Cheezehead72
April 10, 2026 at 09:21 am
You have to remember this was before revenue sharing and salary caps. The Packers could not buy their teams like the big market teams (Dallas). These two actions by the NFL were they great equalizers and allowed the Packers to be competitive. Now there was revenue sharing going back to 1961 for TV revenue but it really was not made effective to help the small market teams until the 1980's.
dblbogey
April 10, 2026 at 01:07 pm
The problem was they passed on people like Joe Montana in the 3rd round because the organization, scouting, personnel dept and GM were all a sad joke.
jannesbjornson
April 10, 2026 at 02:26 pm
Not Red Cochran. He advocated for Montana from Rd One through he whiff in the Third. That FU was all Bart.
GreenandBold
April 10, 2026 at 02:33 pm
Yep Bart did a lot of damage in his own way as HC . Of course he got a lot of favoritism from his playing days .
HarryHodag
April 10, 2026 at 04:26 pm
Both points were true but the Packers were never really that short of money. They hired John Jefferson during that era as an example. John Hadl was a starting QB when the Packers got him. It wasn't like they couldn't compete if they wanted to. It was an example of the Packers board meddling in the day-to-day operations and the team making personnel choices that simply sucked.
Never forget the Lombardi era was mostly done without revenue sharing and no salary cap.
Since'61
April 10, 2026 at 09:41 am
Randy Wright was not a very effective QB for the Packers. It didn't help that OL was not very good or that the defense was bad. However he had some very good receivers including Lofton, Jefferson, Epps, Ed West and Paul Coffman.
Wright was a backup at best and should never have been the Packers starting QB. Thanks, Since '61
Coldworld
April 10, 2026 at 03:41 pm
Wright could have been a decent starter, just not one who win games consistently, had he had a really good OL and those skill players. Probably a decent definition of a player who could have become very good back up but never a long term preferred starter?
barutanseijin
April 13, 2026 at 05:42 pm
Yeah, he led the Big 10 in TD passes once, and there were the appearances in the American TV and the Who Do Ya Know Wants to Buy a Used Car Bowls, but the guy just didn’t have an NFL arm. Very underpowered and not all that accurate, either, as his many interceptions attest. After seeing him with the Badgers i was disappointed the Packers drafted him.
stockholder
April 10, 2026 at 10:03 am
Terrific highlights- Well done - Thank you
BuckyBadger
April 10, 2026 at 11:04 am
These where thin years but it wasn't rock bottom just yet. That was when they drafted Tony Mandarich in '89. That was the straw that broke the camel's back and brought in the Ron Wolf and saved our franchise. The night truly is darkest before the dawn.
For old jerseys I think I still have my Ross Verba. How many people can say that?
Joster11
April 10, 2026 at 11:53 am
He was much maligned for a reason. If there is a silver lining to this story, it is that he was the last really bad QB in the past 3+ decades. It’s been a great run.
dblbogey
April 10, 2026 at 01:08 pm
Brett Hundley ring a bell?
Joster11
April 10, 2026 at 01:59 pm
I do remember him, but he wasn’t the named starting QB. I was referring to official starting QBs.
Dragon5
April 10, 2026 at 01:05 pm
No surprise this hit piece comes in a HORSE🐎 year
Randy Wright born 01-12-1961 tail end of a RAT🐀year
🐎& 🐀=enemy signs
I've told this story here once. Randy lived in the house behind us a couple miles from Lambeau. One day he and my Dad ran into each other while Randy was walking around the block. Instead of being personable and getting to know my Dad, Randy immediately jumped into a, "please don't give me the ~star treatment" spiel. It was all my Dad needed to hear and their conversation ended briefly. I always had the impression Randy's self-esteem was low; his actions on and off the field seem to support it.
People with 3 energy are child-like in their ways. They usually excel at communication, inherently having to express themselves via words, art, etc...many comedians are 3s. Randy has strong 3 energy--in his universal life path number (3), as well as born on a 3 day.
crayzpackfan
April 10, 2026 at 02:49 pm
Good old Randy "Can't Do Anything" Wright. Those were the dog days of Green Bay for sure. I still have many, many, fond memories back then as an 80's teen cheering on the Pack.
GilThorp
April 10, 2026 at 04:28 pm
I know I'm not the only one who referred to him as Randy Wrong.
joejetson
April 10, 2026 at 05:33 pm
Wright was in way over his head in the NFL, but he had a decent career with the Badgers.
He led them to two Bowl appearances in '82 and '83. He was actually the MVP in the Independence Bowl in 1982.
He was in Madison when the team went from perennially terrible, to at least decent.
Packerlifer
April 11, 2026 at 03:26 pm
I don't think the expectations for Wright were ever really that high and he was a starter for awhile more by default. Rich Campbell was supposed to be the franchise guy but had already busted by the time Wright arrived and moved ahead of him for #2 behind Dickey.
Then after Dickey was gone Forrest Gregg brought in Vince Ferragamo, who had been a very good qb for a few seasons with the Rams, getting to a Super Bowl with them once. He also signed Chuck Fusina, who had been a dominant qb in the short-lived United States Football League. And drafted Robbie Bosco, who led Brigham Young to a national college title as the successor to Steve Young.
Those 3 all projected as the starting candidate in 1986 but they all got hurt or just flopped so that left only Randy Wright still standing. And he was standing in a pile of wreckage as Gregg tore apart the team after a succession of .500 finishes with no playoffs.