The 2008 season was the Green Bay Packers' 88th season in the National Football League (NFL), their 90th overall and their 3rd under head coach Mike McCarthy. The Packers were aiming to improve their 13–3 record from last season, but finished the season with a 6–10 record and missed the playoffs. Until the 2017 season, this was the last season in which the Packers did not qualify for the playoffs.
It was the first season since 1991 that quarterback Brett Favre was not on the team's roster. Favre retired in March, decided to come back over the summer and was ultimately traded to the New York Jets after the team told Favre playing in Green Bay again was not an option. It was the first season with quarterback Aaron Rodgers as the team's starter.
Offseason
Draft
The Packers held Pick 1–30 in the NFL draft but traded it to the New York Jets for picks 2–36 and 4–113. In the second round they selected wide receiver Jordy Nelson of Kansas State with pick 2–36, quarterback Brian Brohm of Louisville with pick 2–56 and cornerback Pat Lee of Auburn with pick 2–60.
During day 2 of the NFL draft, The Packers started off their day pick tight end Jermichael Finley of Texas with pick 3–91.
In the fourth round, the Packers traded picks 4–113 and 5–162 to the New York Jets for pick 4–102. They then used that pick to select defensive end Jeremy Thompson of Wake Forest. The Packers then traded pick 4–128 to the St Louis Rams for picks 5–137 and 7–217. They then used pick 4–135 to select offensive guard Josh Sitton of the UCF Knights.
In the 5th round they traded pick 5–137 to the Minnesota Vikings for picks 5–150 and 7–209. With pick 5–150 the Packers selected offensive tackle Breno Giacomini of Louisville.
After waiting for the 6th round to pass in which the Packers did not hold any picks, they finished their draft by selecting quarterback Matt Flynn of LSU and wide receiver Brett Swain of San Diego State with picks 7–209 and 7–217 respectively. They traded pick 7–237 to the New Orleans Saints for their 6th round pick of the 2009 NFL draft.
Undrafted free agents
Following the 2008 NFL draft, the Packers signed 11 undrafted free agents. They were:
On May 7, the Packers signed Cornerback Condrew Allen (Portland State), Offensive tackle Ryan Considine (Louisiana Tech) and Cornerback Kyle Ward (Louisiana-Lafayette) after they attended a minicamp on a tryout basis. On May 22, the Packers also signed Evan Moore (Stanford).
Departures
On February 20, tight end Bubba Franks was released. On February 29, wide receiver Carlyle Holiday was released. On March 1, after the Packers declared him a franchise player on February 20, defensive tackle Corey Williams was traded to the Cleveland Browns for a second round pick in the draft. On March 4, quarterback Brett Favre retired. On March 13, the Baltimore Ravens signed cornerback Frank Walker to a contract. On March 26, longsnapper Rob Davis retired. On May 9, wide receiver Koren Robinson was released. On May 19, the Houston Texans signed tight end Ryan Krause to a contract. On June 5, offensive tackle Joe Toledo was released. On July 23, offensive guard Cameron Stephenson was released. On July 24, punter Ken DeBauche, linebacker Marcus Riley and cornerback Kyle Ward were released. On July 26, tight end Mike Peterson was released. On August 2, long snapper Thomas Gafford was released. On August 6, after he came out of retirement, Brett Favre was traded to the New York Jets for a conditional 4th round pick. On August 25, running back DeShawn Wynn, running back Ryan Powdrell, wide receiver Chris Francies and offensive tackle Ryan Considine were released to reach the NFL-mandated 75 player limit. On August 30, running backs Vernand Morency and Noah Herron, full back Corey White, wide receivers Jake Allen, Taj Smith, Brett Swain and Johnny Quinn, tight end Joey Haynos, offensive lineman Ryan Keenan, Brennan Carvalho and Orrin Thompson, defensive tackles Conrad Bolston, Alfred Malone and Daniel Muir, linebackers Spencer Havner and Danny Lansanah, and defensive backs Scorpio Babers, Tyrone Culver and Joe Porter were released to reach the NFL-mandated 53 player limit. On September 1, linebacker Abdul Hodge and punter Jon Ryan were released.