Tramon Williams was 36, but he looked fresh out of college.

The ageless defensive back hadn’t only been playing — he had been playing pretty damn well. The Packers were preparing for a divisional-round playoff game against the Seahawks two seasons ago, and Williams was coming off a regular season in which he had defied father time and proven just why the Packers were so willing before the 2018 season to bring him back for one more ride on a two-year deal.

“Tramon, he’s legendary,” said Za’Darius Smith, the Packers edge rusher who, at the time, had played with Williams for only one season.

“He’s 36. He doesn’t play like it,” linebacker Preston Smith added. “He plays like he’s out here in his 20s.”

Williams ranking as one of Pro Football Focus’ best cornerbacks during the 2019 season doesn’t begin to fittingly illustrate his legend in Green Bay.

A 2006 undrafted free agent out of Louisiana Tech who first signed with the Texans, Williams first signed to the Packers practice squad in late November 2006 in what would become one of the most impressive signings by the late Ted Thompson in his 13 seasons as general manager. Williams would go from a depth-chart dweller to a sturdy complement to Charles Woodson and Al Harris to a key contributor on a Super Bowl champion to a remarkable decade-long mainstay in green and gold.

On Tuesday, his 38th birthday, the future Packers Hall of Famer who long donned No. 38 announced his retirement after 14 seasons in the NFL, 10 of which came in Green Bay.

“We want to congratulate Tramon, a true pro, on a very successful career that was filled with individual achievements and incredible contributions to team success,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said in a statement. “He was a talented, humble and hard-working player who was a great teammate both on and off the field. We wish him, his wife, Shantrell, and their family all the best.”

The beauty in Williams’ career in Green Bay, bookending stints in Cleveland and Arizona, is that for such a physically demanding position, his physical abilities never wavered. Take arguably his most iconic play in a Packers uniform, his 70-yard pick six against the Falcons in the 2010 divisional round to give Green Bay a 27-14 lead at the halftime buzzer in Atlanta. Williams was 27 at the time, and the game-changing interception was one of the defining moments of a run that ended in a Super Bowl ring.

Almost nine years later, and though it was just a mundane regular-season game in 2019, Williams’ acrobatic fourth-quarter interception in the snow against the Giants to seal a 31-13 victory showed just how much he had left in the tank. Williams was 36 at the time, but still making plays.

Not only did Williams blossom on the field in his second chapter with the Packers, but he served as an invaluable resource to a secondary that featured so much youth over two seasons with the likes of Jaire Alexander, Kevin King, Darnell Savage Jr., Josh Jackson and Chandon Sullivan. Williams played in all 34 games in 2019 and ’20, two playoff games included, and played in 174 out of 175 total games with the Packers through the 2019 playoffs.

So it’s no surprise that so much admiration for Williams flooded throughout Twitter after his announcement Tuesday afternoon. He was a highly respected locker-room voice, a two-time recipient of the Tom Mulhern Stand-Up Guy Award given to players who best exemplify cooperation and professionalism with local media and a rock-solid player at a position so often left vulnerable on the field.

When Williams re-signed with the Packers before the NFC Championship Game in January, Aaron Rodgers was asked about the return of his longtime friend and teammate. He couldn’t hold back a grin.

“He’s one of those teammates you just love playing with over the years,” Rodgers said. “He’s such a professional. The way he takes care of himself, he looks amazing. He looks like he could go out and play 70 plays for us. … He’s one of those special guys, special personalities. I remember back when he was a young player and you just saw the athleticism. And hearing the old stories about the old Green Machine, the basketball team, the Packers basketball team that used to go around and play the local high school all-star teams and the police squads and the fireman teams and the charity games and hear the stories about Tramon and just his athleticism — dunking on people, 360 windmill, and also was a great shooter.

“He is by far one of the most athletic guys we’ve ever had here. Had some big plays over the years in the playoffs. You think about the 2010 run, he ended a game in Philly; (he) basically gave us a huge jolt in the divisional round (against Atlanta) with his pick six. Still one of my favorite moments in all the moments in that is watching him pick that ball off and run down the sidelines with Nick Collins to put us up 14 going into half. So, it’s fun. I wish we did this every year.”

Though Williams was active but didn’t play a snap against the Buccaneers, it was fitting that the last time he pulled a jersey over his head came in the home locker room at Lambeau Field.

Hell, he could probably play until he’s 40, but the stalwart who wore No. 38 and intercepted 38 career passes earned a symbolic sendoff on his 38th birthday.

“To the greatest organization in the NFL, the Green Bay Packers, thank you for allowing a very raw athletic kid to live-out his dream,” Williams wrote on Twitter. “Thank you, to the late great Ted Thompson, for seeing the value in an Undrafted free agent. Thank you, Alonzo Highsmith, Zo to be exact, for finding me and pushing with everything you had to get me in.

“Thank you, Mark Murphy, and Russ Ball for always being so genuine. To my brother Joe Whitt, thank you for believing in me no matter what until this day! It means a lot! Thank you to all my teammates and coaches over the years. I got love for every one of you. Thank you to Flea and the training staff for keeping me on the field throughout my career. And to the best fans in the world, thank you for supporting me through the good and the bad. That’s the true definition of a loyal fan base.

“Thank you Gutey, for bringing me back and allowing me to finish this journey in the green and yellow 38 jersey! That meant everything to me! No matter what jersey I wore, I always carried the G! #38 is clocking out at 38!”