Cal Football: Brett Favre Expects Aaron Rodgers to Finish His Career Elsewhere
Former Cal star Aaron Rodgers has not played a game since January 19, but news continues to swirl around the Green Bay Packers' quarterback. First it was the unsubstantiated--and rather silly--speculation that the Denver Broncos were interested in acquiring Rodgers, and now it is former Packers quarterback Brett Favre saying he expects Rodgers to finish his career with another team.
Favre made his comments on the Rich Eisen Show, and here is the clip of that interview:
A few key elements of Favre's interview:
He said he talked to Rodgers after the Packers drafted Utah State quarterback Jordan Love in the first round this year. He declined to say what Rodgers told him other than to say Rodgers was "surprised" by the pick.
ESPN's Packers writer Rob Demovsky was struck by that comment:
The key Favre quote is this:
“I think he’ll play somewhere else,” Favre told Eisen. “My gut tells me, no. It’s kind of cool – it’s not uncommon to retire and unretire now. When I did it, it was a little bit out of the realm. Now, it’s fairly common, not just in football but in all sports. Tom Brady and myself and Joe Montana and Peyton Manning – just to name a few – finished their career elsewhere. In my case, I played for four different teams. So I think you’re going to see that trend more and more, and I think Aaron will finish somewhere else. That’s my gut.”
That left Demovsky to discuss the issue, speaking about Rodgers' contract, the Packers' window of opportunity with Rodgers and the significance of the fact that Rodgers has not said anything publicly:
Bill Barnwell of ESPN addressed the issue as he attempted to answer this question: What were the Packers thinking?
Of course, this situation is eerily similar to the one Rodgers stepped into when he was drafted.
Rodgers was the 24th overall pick in 2005, going to the Packers when Favre was 35 years old and still near the top of his game. Favre had been the league MVP three times and had won his one Super Bowl eight years earlier (1996 season). Favre had been the Packers' starting quarterback for 13 years at the time and was coming off a season in which he led the Packers to the playoffs.
This year, the Packers drafted Love with the 27th overall pick when Rodgers was 36 years old and still near the top of his game. Rodgers has been league MVP twice and won his one Super Bowl nine years ago (2010 season). Rodgers has been the Packers starting quarterback for 12 years and is coming off a season in which he led the Packers to the playoffs.
Favre was Green Bay's starting quarterback for three more years before Rodgers took over and Favre left to become the New York Jets' quarterback in 2008 and the Minnesota Vikings' quarterback in 2009.
