Favre: Rodgers-Packers Relationship Could End in Divorce
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Aaron Rodgers has “every right to be disappointed” about the Green Bay Packers’ decision to select Jordan Love in last week’s NFL Draft, Brett Favre said on Wednesday. That disappointment has Favre believing Rodgers ultimately will finish his career elsewhere.
“My gut tells me no,” Favre told host Rich Eisen on the “Rich Eisen Show” on NBC Sports Network. “I don't know this for certain, but I guarantee you, it’s got the wheels turning in Aaron’s mind. If that’s the case, then that means there’s a chip on his shoulder toward the organization that otherwise was not there.”
The legendary former Packers quarterback said he’s talked to Rodgers since the draft. While he wouldn’t detail their conversation, other than to say Rodgers was “surprised” by the decision, Favre hinted that the relationship between Rodgers and the Packers could turn sour.
“Green Bay’s not going anywhere without Aaron Rodgers in the next few years,” Favre said. “If he plays like we expect him to play, they’ve got a shot with or without a first-round receiver. He’s that good. So, I would do all I could to not burn that bridge, and I don’t think they did that. I think they burned a bridge that’s going to be hard to overcome. At some point, I think it will rear its ugly head.”
The Packers reached last year’s NFC Championship Game but last week’s draft class did little to address the team’s primary needs. That started with trading up to No. 26 of the first round to get Love. Not only did the Packers not use that first pick for an instant-impact player, but the fourth-round pick lost in the trade tied general manager Brian Gutekunst’s hands. For the fifth consecutive draft, the Packers didn’t draft a receiver in the first three rounds. Green Bay is the only team that failed to use significant draft capital at the position over that span.
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“Green Bay’s one of (the teams) that should be playing for now,” Favre said. “They don’t draft any weapons, not just in the first round, but any weapons that can help immediately to my knowledge and that just sends a disrespect message to what I would think to Aaron Rodgers. He has every right to be disappointed if he is.”
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While Favre said “it’s not the head guy’s job to mentor the next guy,” he expected Rodgers would be a good teammate to Love. That was a source of consternation for Rodgers when he served as Favre’s backup from 2005 through 2007.
“I think he would go over and beyond to help but he’s not going to go out of his way,” Favre said.
If Rodgers is upset and the Packers stumble out of the gates, the situation could turn bitter in a hurry, Favre said.
“He’s got four years left on his contract,” Favre said. “Let’s say they start off 0-3, regardless of how Aaron’s playing but I assume he’ll play like he normally does. If they’re 0-3, I think we’ll see the claws come out from a lot of folks. They’re going to be left trying to defend themselves.”
For years, Rodgers has discussed his legacy, and a big part of that legacy has been starting and finishing his career with the team for which he started his NFL career in 2005. That could still happen. Rodgers, who is under contract through 2023 via a $134 million extension agreed to before the 2018 season, could re-establish himself as one of the game’s truly elite players. Love could be the next Paxton Lynch (the 26th pick of the 2016 draft who bombed with Denver). That, however, seems at least a little unlikely – a thought that no doubt has crossed Rodgers’ mind the last several days.
While Rodgers knows the business – he saw it with the trade of Favre, the release of close friend Jordy Nelson and Tom Brady's decision to join the Buccaneers this offseason – the addition of Love certainly drove home the point emphatically.
“Based on their present situation, to me, it sends a message to Aaron, not so much anyone else, but to Aaron, we’re preparing for our future first and deal with our present after,” Favre said in a separate interview on SiriusXM NFL Radio. “And everyone’s got a different view and perspective and take on it. That’s just how I feel about it. I don’t know what that immediate need would have been, but I would think maybe another receiver – someone who could come in and start right away (and) get us to the Super Bowl. We’re one player away. Maybe they got that in latter rounds, I don’t know. But that’s the message I got.”
