The Aaron Rodgers era might be coming to an end in Green Bay. For Packers fans, the situation probably has a very familiar feeling back to when Green Bay moved on from Brett Favre in favor of Rodgers.
Favre was a beloved part of the Packers franchise from 1992-2007. In those 16 years, led Green Bay to 160 regular season wins while throwing for 61,655 yards and 442 touchdowns. In 1996, Favre led the Packers to a Super Bowl victory. That year, he won NFL MVP for the second time in what became a back-to-back-to-back feat from 1995-1997.
Favre remained productive for the Packers, but Green Bay selected Rodgers with the No. 24 overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft. After three years serving as Favre’s backup, the Packers made the decision to move forward with Rodgers at the helm and traded Favre to the New York Jets.
Rodgers has certainly lived up to the expectations as Favre’s successor. Since taking over as the starter in 2008, he has led the Packers to a 147-75-1 regular season record with a Super Bowl win in 2010. Rodgers has been the NFL’s MVP four times in his career. Now, his tenure could be coming to an end in nearly the same fashion in which Favre’s did.
Int he 2020 NFL Draft, the Packers selected a quarterback. Jordan Love joined the team after being taken with the No. 26 overall pick. He has spent two years as Rodgers’ backup, but now he could be getting his shot.
Former Packers Exec Sees One Big Difference in Favre, Rodgers situations
Questions surrounding Rodgers and his future in Green Bay are nothing new. They have dominated the offseason for much of the past couple years, and this year is no different.
Former Packers Vice President of Player Finance/General Counsel Andrew Brandt, who was in the organization from 1999-2008, sees one big difference in the decisions to move on from Favre and Rodgers.
The fanbase seems to be ready to move into the post-Rodgers era. That wasn’t necessarily the case when the team traded Favre.
“Brett was incredibly popular; the hate we received from moving on to Aaron was overwhelming,” Brandt said on Twitter. “I don’t sense the same here; it seems like a decent segment of the fan base is ready to move on to Jordan.”
Part of the apparent desire to move on from Rodgers and into the Love era could be the fact that the Panthers went 8-9 and missed the playoffs last season. Even though Green Bay went 13-3 in each of the 2019-2021 seasons, and Rodgers winning MVP in 2020 and 2021, a rebuild could be getting started in Green Bay.
If the Packers do ultimately trade Rodgers, the favorite to land him is the New York Jets. A decision should come soon.