Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
The Green Bay Packers said goodbye to an accomplished middle linebacker on Monday.
Per the team, Jim Carter, who succeeded Ray Nitschke in Green Bay’s front seven, passed away at the age of 75 after a long fought cancer battle. Carter was a third-round draft pick of the Packers in 1970 and spent the entirety of his nine-year career in Titletown.
A hard-nosed tackler, Carter quietly went about his business as a Pro Bowl-level defender and was one of just three Packers inside backers to receive the honor between he, Nitschke and A.J. Hawk.
Former #Packers LB Jim Carter has passed away at the age of 75. https://t.co/1ORKES7TTl
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) November 27, 2023
Unfortunately, replacing a legend of Nitschke’s stature led to unfair treatment from Packers fans and it took a toll on him.
“If I ever went to Green Bay for an alumni game, I fear I’d get booed,” Carter said in 1996. “I never want to go through that again. It had a profound effect on me. It was degrading.”
“Definitely, the players supported me,” he said years later. “I had a lot of good support from them with the stuff with Nitschke, like when he’d come into a game and I’d go out, and [the fans] would all cheer. When I started getting booed, all the players – the defense and the offense, too – were real supportive.”
Carter was a respected player among his peers, and they trusted him to get the job done, which he did more times than not.
Rest in peace, Jim Carter.