It is no secret that, starting in 2020, Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers were not on the best of terms. The event, of course, that started their fracture, was the selection of Jordan Love in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Rodgers, feeling slighted, spent the next three seasons in Green Bay with a massive chip on his shoulder, feeling as if he had to prove that the Packers organization had made the wrong decision.
Of course, Rodgers went on to win the NFL MVP Award in 2020 and 2021, leading some to believe that, perhaps, Green Bay had made the wrong decision. Things got so tense between the future Hall of Famer and the front office that, according to some reporters, Rodgers requested that general manager Brian Gutekunst be fired.
But, to his credit, Rodgers never took his frustrations with the situation out on his successor. He remembered how tough it was being drafted as the heir to a future Hall of Famer, and how bad it felt when that veteran (Brett Favre) refused to help his development.
Instead, Rodgers took Love under his wing and has continued to help and advise him.
Aaron Rodgers Wants His Next Team to Have a Culture Like That of the Green Bay Packers
Rodgers’ exit from Green Bay is well-documented. Fans are aware that the future Hall of Fame quarterback would not take calls from Gutekunst during the 2023 offseason, and emerged from his darkness retreat to find messages telling him that the Packers were looking to trade him.
And, of course, they did. Rodgers has spent the last two seasons with the New York Jets, though he missed virtually all of the 2023 season due to a torn Achilles.
But now he is a free agent for the first time in his career, and Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reports that the four-time NFL MVP is feeling a little nostalgic towards his old stomping grounds:
“And along those lines, I’ve heard Rodgers is looking for a culture such as the one in Green Bay.
“I get it if that sounds a little strange after the drama of the four-time MVP’s final years as a Packer. But over the past few months, Rodgers has been open with people around him on his renewed appreciation for what he had for 18 seasons in Wisconsin. Call it a grass-is-greener dynamic if you want, but it definitely has felt, to some of those around him, like spending a couple years as a New York Jet made Rodgers view the situation he had more favorably.”
To be fair, Rodgers has never publicly or explicitly said anything derogatory about the Packers organization. Even after the trade, he remained firm in his desire and intention to retire with the organization when he felt the time was right for him to end his NFL career.
And now it appears that, while he still may not have agreed with everything the Packers did during his tenure, he certainly appreciates them more than he did. So much so that he hopes his next team (likely the Pittsburgh Steelers) have a culture similar to that in Green Bay.
More Green Bay Packers News from Wisconsin Sports Heroics
- “Love and the Offense Stalled Out;” Packers Named as 1 of 4 Trade Destinations for All-Pro Wide Receiver
- Packers: 2,200 Yard Wide Receiver Reportedly “Falling Into Green Bay’s Lap”
- BREAKING: Packers See 21-TD Wide Receiver with Ties to Jordan Love Become Available
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