RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesEarl Dotson and Tramon Williams each played for Super Bowl-winning Green Bay Packers teams, although they never crossed paths in the locker room. Their paths are inextricably bound now, becoming the 172nd and 173rd members of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame.
The pair were inducted on July 30 during a banquet at Lambeau Field.
Both came from small towns; Dotson from Beaumont, Texas, and Williams from Napoleonville in the bayou district of Louisiana. And both look on Green Bay, the smallest town in the NFL, as a second home.
"When I first got drafted by Green Bay, it was a shock. To be honest with you, I had to look at the map to find out where Green Bay was," Dotson said. "Once I got here and got to talking to fans, I realized God put me in the right place. Since day one, the people here in Green Bay treated me like family."
Williams was undrafted but signed by the Houston Texans, who released him before the start of the 2006 season. He proceeded to try out for nine teams, including the Packers twice. He got a call on Thanksgiving Day in 2006 from the Packers' Elliot Wolf saying Green Bay would sign him to the practice squad. Four years later, he was the starting cornerback in Super Bowl XLV.
Dotson, 55, was an offensive tackle who played for the Packers from 1993-2002. He was on Green Bay's two Super Bowl teams in the 1996 and 1997 seasons. A 6-foot-4, 315-pound offensive lineman, Dotson was chosen in the third round of the 1993 NFL Draft. He became a starter in 1995 and started 88 of 120 games over 10 years, mostly at right tackle.
Rob Davis, who presented his third Packers player for the hall of fame, said, "when our careers are over, one of the things that's most important to us as players is we hope we did our part, whatever your part might be. After 10 years of doing his part, Earl is getting the recognition this evening, of a loyal soldier who got up and played tough football against the best defensive ends in this league, hall of fame guys, and made those guys [give him] respect."
Dotson said the change in his career came when Philadelphia Eagles defensive end William Fuller embarrassed him on Sunday Night Football in 1994, a game the Packers lost. "Because I wasn't starting, I wasn't taking this as seriously as I was supposed to. Sometimes you need something kicking you in the butt to get you going," he said.
He went into the offseason and took it seriously, and when the Packers met the Eagles in 1996, it was a different outcome, both for the Dotson and the Packers, who won that game.
If you want to get under Dotson's skin, just ask him about the lack of respect the Packers' offensive line got in 1996, the year they won Super Bowl XXXI. "We had the No. 1 passer, we a 1,000-yard rusher. You going to tell me no guys got respect off our line. It rubbed me the wrong way. It still do," he said.
Dotson said he wanted to play for one team his whole career. He said as long as Green Bay matched his market value, he wasn't even going to look elsewhere, and he didn't. "These guys are who I wanted to be with," he said. "Money is not always something to chase. You end up in places you don't want to be."
More: Tramon Williams, Earl Dotson selected for Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame
Rodney Williams, who was Tramon's agent and his presenter at the banquet, said Tramon signed 11 contracts in his 14-year career, seven with the Packers. Williams , 43, a cornerback most of his career, played for the Packers from 2007-14 and again in 2018-19. He played for the Cleveland Browns and Arizona Cardinals before returning to the Packers in 2018. His final season in 2020 was with the Baltimore Ravens .
"He wasn't worried about being the highest-paid player. He was worried about respecting the game and respecting the players around him. That doesn't happen often. He's just a guy who's really about family, faith and doing whatever it takes to win," Rodney Williams said.
Williams came to the attention of the Packers when he broke up three Brett Favre passes in his first training camp with the team. "It's a game changer. It changes your mind. The way that you think. You come in as a guy kind of on a bubble, you try to make the team, you begin to look at the guys in front of you, at Charles Woodson, Al Harris, Will Blackmon, all those guys who are in that top four or five. And you think where do I fit at?"
His locker, along with those of all the practice squad and undrafted players was in an auxiliary locker area off the main locker room. He came in from practice and found the media gathered around his locker. He thought, "'Hey, what did I do?' That's when I felt that I've got a fair chance. When I was at Houston, I never got that. When I got here, it felt completely different."
Williams credited Packers team doctor Pat McKenzie with saving him from injuring himself worse after a shoulder injury during the first game of the 2011 season. Williams said his shoulder completely shut down, but he'd never missed a game and wasn't planning on do so then. He was still hurting, but was determined to play. "Doc looked at me and he said T, give me this one. I know you're not ready," Williams said.
He returned for game three and finished the 2011 season with 64 combined tackles (53 solo), a career-high 22 pass deflections, four interceptions, and a touchdown in 15 games.
While with the Packers, Williams started 122 of 159 games, made 30 interceptions, running one back for a touchdown, had 156 passes defensed, six forced fumbles and 10 fumble recoveries. He returned punts and kicks, scoring a touchdown on a punt return. He was named to the Pro Bowl in the 2010 Super Bowl season as a replacement selection.
"We play this game for the love of it, but we do wan...
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