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Despite all his injuries, former Packers QB Don Majkowski 'would do it all again'
THEN: Don Majkowski played 10 NFL seasons with the Packers, Colts and Lions in the 1980s and 1990s, but is best known for his six-year stint in Green Bay, where he was Brett Favre’s predecessor at quarterback. In 1989, Majkowski finished second behind Joe Montana in league MVP voting after leading the NFL in passing yards, but a series of injuries, starting with a torn rotator cuff late in the 1990 season, ultimately derailed his career. He last played in 1996 with Detroit.
NOW: Majkowski, 52, currently lives in Atlanta with his family. He previously ran a real estate investment company, but he sold the business several years ago and now considers himself retired after battling a string of serious health issues related to his playing career. Additionally, Majkowski’s son, Bo, signed to play baseball at Clemson in November. “I don’t know what I’m going to do in the future,” Majkowski said. “But right now I’m just enjoying being a professional dad.”
ON PLAYING THROUGH INJURIES: “Ask any guy, and they’re all going to say the same thing: that they’d do it all again. Unfortunately, it was just something we loved doing as a profession, something that you dream about ever since you were a little kid, and you work your entire life to achieve that goal. And once you play in the NFL, you’re living the dream, and it was pretty special. So I don’t regret anything. You hear that you could have some problems later in life, and you don’t think it’s ever going to happen to you — you really don’t — but as you get older and the injuries accumulate, it really has a profound effect. And I’m really just one of the guys. It happened to all my friends, all my buddies and former teammates I played with. They all have some big-time issues.”
ON FACING THE VIKINGS, GREEN BAY’S OPPONENT THIS SATURDAY (1 P.M. ET, FOX): “When I was playing, Minnesota was probably the one team that I looked forward to playing the least. That’s back when they had the No. 1 defense in the NFL and you would play inside the old dome and it was the loudest place to play. And with the pass rushers that they had on that astroturf, it was just a difficult defense to play against and a very difficult place to play. Even (Brett) Favre said the same thing. You couldn’t audible as a quarterback. It was difficult to even call a play in the huddle and have your teammates hear. Back then they also had the No. 1 defense in the NFL, with Chris Doleman, Keith Millard, Henry Thomas on the front line. They had a lot of great players.”
ON THE HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE AT LAMBEAU IN WINTER: “We didn’t have that nice indoor facility they have now, so I’m not sure how much they practice outside, but back when I played we used to practice outside all the time, no matter how cold it was and no matter how much snow we had. And you learned how to adapt. And as a quarterback, you learn how to throw — I wore receiver gloves when it got cold, because I wasn’t a guy who could hold onto the ball real well. But that’s also before we could break the balls in, when referees used to break out brand new balls on gameday and they were unbelievably slick. It was a nightmare to throw them on gameday, in cold weather or in hot weather. Nowadays they allow the teams to break the balls in, so it’s a lot different.”
ON GREEN BAY’S TURNAROUND AFTER A 4-6 START: “I think the receivers are doing a much better job getting separation and beating man coverage. During the midseason, there weren’t a lot of guys getting open, not doing as good a job as they are now. And if they get open even a hair, (Aaron) Rodgers is going to put the ball on the money. Aaron has been incredibly consistent and accurate and tough playing through what he’s playing through with his hamstring, his calf, when you could tell he’s definitely limited.”
ON THE PACKERS’ QUARTER-CENTURY OF QUARTERBACK STABILITY: “How many teams have struggled to have a consistent starter for three to five years? So to have so many great quarterbacks, especially the last two, play that long, and at such a high level — without question, the Packers fans have been treated to something special. And they appreciate it, but it was a little disappointing when I was getting calls from radio shows at the beginning of the season from people saying Rodgers wasn’t the same, that they were all down on him, that he’s not reading defenses properly. It was a joke to me how quickly they could kind of turn when a guy has played that great for so long, when he hasn’t lost anything yet, in my opinion. But I think most Packer fans really, truly do appreciate the quarterback play they’ve had for so many years, when it would be easy to get spoiled.”
ON HIS SON’S BASEBALL CAREER: “He’s such a great kid and he played basketball as well, played football, was a great quarterback. But he just really found his own niche, what his true love was. And he always says what I went through, post-career — with him seeing all the surgeries I had, the pain that I was in for years — (is why he) looked toward baseball as the way to go, and I absolutely agreed with him. So I’m thrilled that he chose baseball, and I’m thrilled that he’s one of the top outfielders in the country. He’s got an opportunity to play at a great school, against high-level competition for a few years, and hopefully one day he’ll be good enough to get drafted and possibly give professional baseball a shot. But I’m just so proud of him, and it’s been so much fun as a family to be able to share that and be part of his career and him creating his own legacy.”
You can follow Sam Gardner on Twitter or email him at samgardnerfox@gmail.com.
