You knew this was going to happen, just not specifically when. The Packers answered that question Sunday by officially setting a retirement press conference for Tuesday, August 6th.
Jordy Nelson pictured at his 2016 Charity Softball Game in Grand Chute
Early in June, Nelson appeared on WIBW TV in Topeka, Kansas and outlined his retirement plans.
Jordy told that station's Melissa Brunner, "So that is the plan, to go up there in August during training camp, sign the one-day deal, retire as a Green Bay Packer, and move on from there." He added that if the Raiders wouldn't have released him, he would have probably played another year. Although there were opportunities, going to another team was out of the question. He didn't want to move the family again.
Nelson, who was selected by the Packers in the second round (No. 36 overall) of the 2008 NFL Draft out of Kansas State, played in 136 regular-season games with 88 starts during his 10 seasons with Green Bay. He ranks No. 3 in franchise history in receptions (550), No. 5 in receiving yards (7,848), No. 2 in touchdown receptions (69) and No. 3 in 100-yard receiving games (25). Nelson is the only player in team annals to record three seasons with 13-plus touchdown receptions (2011, 2014, 2016). He and Sterling Sharpe (1992-94) are the only players in franchise history to register three straight seasons with 85-plus receptions (2013-14, 2016).
Nelson posted 1,250-plus receiving yards and 13-plus touchdown catches in the same season three times in his career (2011, 2014, 2016), the fourth most in NFL history behind Hall of Famers Jerry Rice (six), Randy Moss (five) and Terrell Owens (four). Nelson was selected to the Pro Bowl and named second-team All-Pro by The Associated Press for his performance during the 2014 season in which he set career highs in receptions (98) and receiving yards (franchise-record 1,519) while also hauling in 13 touchdowns. After he missed the entire 2015 season due to a knee injury, Nelson became the first Packer to be named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year by AP after registering 1,257 yards on 97 receptions (13.0 avg.) with a league-high 14 receiving TDs in 2016.
In his 10 seasons with the Packers, Nelson started eight of the 13 postseason games he appeared in. He is the franchise postseason leader with 54 receptions, ranks No. 4 in receiving yards (668) and is tied for No. 3 in receiving TDs (five). Nelson led the Packers with nine receptions for 140 yards (15.6 avg.) and a TD in the Super Bowl XLV victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Nelson was just the fourth receiver in Super Bowl history with nine-plus receptions for at least 140 yards and a touchdown.
Nelson finished his career playing one season (2018) with the Oakland Raiders, where he appeared in 15 games with 14 starts and recorded 63 receptions for 739 yards (11.7 avg.) and three TDs.