Former Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers did not have what one might call a cordial break from the organization. Indeed, the final seasons of Rodgers’ tenure in Green Bay were filled with conflict with the Packers’ front office, much of which was highly publicized. Still, there is no denying the fact that Rodgers will forever be remembered as a Packers legend and that he will be embraced by the organization when his career is over, and his number is retired by the team.
For as dramatic as his final years in Green Bay were, his career overall is truly worthy of celebration and recognition. After all, he won a Super Bowl, four NFL MVP Awards, and set numerous franchise and league records during his 15 years as the Packers starting quarterback.
But what is often forgotten about Rodgers’ career with the Packers is that he did not have a warm welcome to the franchise when he was first drafted.
Former Green Bay Packers Quarterback Aaron Rodgers Did Not Have a Good Relationship with Brett Favre
The Packers selected Rodgers in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft after he plummeted down the draft board. At the time, Green Bay had the legendary Brett Favre under center, though he was always flirting with retirement at the time.
It was clear to everyone that Rodgers was selected to be Favre successor, and that made him a pariah to both the now-Hall of Fame quarterback and many Packers fans. When the newly drafted Rodgers first took the practice field for training camp, fans actually booed him.
He did not get a warm welcome from Favre either. The elder quarterback refused to help develop his successor, famously stating that his job was to win games and not be a “babysitter.”
Former Green Bay Packers Quarterback Aaron Rodgers Was Determined to Have a Better Relationship with Jordan Love
Rodgers was placed in a similar situation years later when the Packers traded up in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft to select Jordan Love as his successor. Obviously, the future Hall of Fame quarterback was not happy with the organization for their decision, but he knew what it was like to be in Love’s position.
Love did not ask the Packers to draft him. The situation was not his fault.
According to an interview that author Ian O’Connor, who is releasing a biography of Rodgers this month, the four-time NFL MVP was “hellbent” on having a better relationship with Love than Favre had with him.
O’Connor told Fox News, “(Rodgers) treated him a lot better than he got treated by Brett Favre, that’s for sure. And I think Jordan Love really appreciated that, and Aaron understood what it felt like to be in that position.
“He was hellbent on not doing the same thing to Jordan.”
O’Connor also said that Favre and Rodgers appear to have bonded over both being forced out of Green Bay.
For all of his faults, Rodgers was a good teammate to Love and still communicates with him. There are a lot of narratives out there about the now-New York Jets quarterback being a bad teammate, but his relationship with Love is really the only evidence one needs when trying to determine if those rumors are true.
Rodgers chose to mentor his successor like a good teammate should. Very few would have blamed him if he had taken the Favre route.
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