If there’s anyone who knows what Aaron Rodgers is going through right now, it’s the man he replaced in Green Bay. 12 years ago, Rodgers was getting ready to be the Packers’ starting quarterback after Green Bay decided to move on from Brett Favre. Now Favre is mentoring Rodgers through a similar situation.
The Packers made a clear push towards the future when they selected Utah State quarterback Jordan Love with the 26th overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft. Favre went on The Rich Eisen Show on Wednesday to discuss how Rodgers has been handling the team’s decision to draft his potential replacement.
“I’m not going to talk about all that we talked,” Favre said. “He was, let’s just say surprised, they went that direction.” Rodgers openly lobbied for the Packers to take a skill player in the first round to help out the offense. Obviously that didn’t happen, and Favre hinted at the fact that Rodgers is a bit upset with the Love pick.
“They don’t draft any weapons that can help immediately,” Favre said. “That sends a disrespect message to Aaron. He has every right to be disappointed, if he is.”
Rodgers was selected with the 24th pick in the 2005 NFL draft, which was surprising at the time since the Packers still had Favre running the show in Green Bay. Favre won three MVP awards and a Super Bowl in 16 seasons as a member of the Packers. Favre started three more seasons with the team before ending up with the Jets for a forgettable campaign in 2008.
Picking Rodgers was a gutsy call, but it worked out pretty well for the Packers.
Favre believes that Rodgers will end his NFL career in a similar way to Favre. “I think he’ll play someplace else,” Favre said. “I think Aaron will finish somewhere else, that’s my gut … I guarantee you it has the wheels turning in Aaron’s mind. If that’s the case, there’s a chip on his shoulder towards the organization that was otherwise not there.”
Rodgers’ contract, and the fact that Love isn’t ready to start for an NFL team, should keep him as the Packers starting quarterback for at least two more seasons. According to Spotrac, the Packers will face a $17 million dead cap charge for getting rid of Rodgers in 2022. That’s a lot of money to not have access to, but it pales in comparison to his $31.6 million dead cap charge in 2021.
But hopefully, when Green Bay decides its time to part ways with Rodgers, his exit isn’t as unceremonious as Favre’s was.
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