Green Bay Packers right tackle Zach Tom is going through the process of changing his name to Zach Bako-Bewele, a change that says as much about family as it does about football. It is a personal decision, but it also arrives at a time when the Packers clearly need him back on the field.
The new surname combines the last names of both of his grandparents, who were Nigerian immigrants, and it has already started to appear on the team website and on his locker room name plate. For a player who has become one of the more dependable pieces on the Packers offensive line, the change gives a more complete picture of who he is away from the game.
Zach Bako-Bewele: a name built to be passed down
Zach Bako-Bewele said the reason behind the change is simple: family legacy. “I want to have a name that I can pass down,” he said.
He added that the new name is meant to reflect his background and the people whose story helped shape his own. “It represents where they came from, where I came from. I just feel like that name will- people will see that name and have a good understanding of who I am and what I come from,” he said.
That is the sort of detail that gives a routine roster update more meaning. This is not a branding exercise or a football decision. It is a player choosing to carry his family history forward in the public version of his identity.
Why the Packers still need him
The name change comes while the Packers continue to feel the absence of a lineman who has been central to their success. In the 2025 season, the team was 8-4 when he started and 1-3-1 when he did not start.
That split is hard to ignore. It does not tell the full story of a season, but it does underline how important his presence has been to the stability of the offense. Zach Tom started in five games during his rookie season, then started every game in 2022 and again in 2023 before signing a four-year, $88 million deal with over $30 million in guaranteed salary before the 2025 season.
He then tore his patellar tendon in Week 14 of the 2025 season, leaving the Packers without one of their most reliable blockers. The team can update a name plate and a website, but the bigger issue is obvious: they still need the player himself.
What changes next?
For now, the most immediate change is public identity. Zach Bako-Bewele has already begun appearing around the team, and the process is clearly underway.
The football picture remains just as important. After 51 career snaps in one early phase of his career and a run of full-time starts in 2022 and 2023, the Packers know exactly what he brings when healthy. The next step is recovery, and then the team will hope the man with the new name can again become the same trusted presence on the edge.
