Brett Favre Speaks Out About Aaron Rodgers Potentially Leaving The Packers
On January 22, the San Francisco 49ers upset the Green Bay Packers to win their second game of the playoff season. For the Packers — who were the No. 1 seed and had clinched home field advantage — it was a shocking end to the season, as many had speculated that quarterback Aaron Rodgers was primed to go all the way to the Super Bowl. On January 25, the 38-year-old spoke noncommittally of his future on "The Pat McAfee Show." "The most important thing is first the commitment to playing," Rodgers said, in response to speculation about whether he might retire. "After that it's conversations with my agent and Brian and looking at the desires of the team and the mindset moving forward and make a decision from there."
According to Bleacher Report, Packers coach Matt LaFleur made it clear that the team would like Rodgers to return for the 2022 season. However, Rodgers appears to still be mulling things over. Following the loss, he spoke to reporters about his hesitancy to suit up for Green Bay next year. "I don't want to be part of a rebuild if I'm going to keep playing," he said, via Twitter. There's also a chance Rodgers might follow in the footsteps of quarterback greats like Peyton Manning and John Elway to return to play for a different team, and end up with a Super Bowl ring that way. While Rodgers' future hangs in the balance, another legendary quarterback is weighing in with his two cents.
Brett Favre says that Aaron Rodgers is ready to move on
Like Aaron Rodgers, former quarterback Brett Favre knows a little something about playing for the Green Bay Packers. Favre played for Green Bay for 16 seasons, won the Super Bowl in 1997, and retired after the 2007 season, per the New York Post. As he was deciding whether or not to retire, Rodgers was coming up in the franchise. On January 25, Favre appeared on WNSP (via the New York Post) and said he felt that Rodgers was ready to move on from the green, white, and gold. "I think we may have seen the last of Aaron in Green Bay," Favre shared. "I don't know that's certain. It's just a gut feeling. He may try his hand somewhere else now."
In Favre's opinion, this doesn't mean retiring, but instead, recommending that Rodgers spend his last hurrah with a different team. Referencing 44-year-old Tom Brady, who famously left the New England Patriots to win a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021, Favre said, "Nowadays, guys play a lengthy career with a team and move on ... My advice would be, 'If your gut's telling you, I want to try my hand somewhere else, it's kind of gotten stale or stagnant here,' then go give it a try." According to Sportscasting, Favre and Rodgers had a bit of a complicated relationship at first, but they've since reconciled, so perhaps Rodgers will take his predecessor's advice to heart.