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Steve Young gave Aaron Rodgers advice about being a young backup QB

Steve Young shared his advice about working behind Joe Montana with a young Aaron Rodgers.
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Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Steve Young tells SI Now's Maggie Gray what he told Aaron Rodgers when the Green Bay Packers quarterback was sitting behind Brett Favre.

“I really related with Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre as they transitioned. A lot of similarities. Aaron would call me and ask, ‘Was it this hard?’ and I'd say, “Yes, it was.‘ [Rodgers asked] ‘Did you have to bite your tongue this hard?‘ [I replied] ‘Yes, you do.’ So I think for him, it was hearing that all of his instincts were right and how you handle it is right, not just today and into the future. I think Aaron did a great job of handling a very tough situation, which is always going to be hard when you have someone who is a legend in front of you.”

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Young served as Joe Montana's back-up from 1987 to '90 and took over after an elbow injury to Montana at the 1990 NFC Championship Game. Young won Super Bowl XXIII, XXIV, and XXIX as the starting quarterback.

Rodgers was drafted by the Packers in the first round of the 2005 NFL draft and served as Favre's back-up from 2005 to '07. He took over as the starting quarterback after Favre announced his retirement in 2008. Since taking over he has made five Pro Bowl teams and won Super Bowl XLV.