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Brett Favre Believes Aaron Rodgers Won't Play If Packers Don't Resolve Issues
May 5, 2021
Green Bay Packers legend Brett Favre doesn't believe Aaron Rodgers will play for the Packers in 2021 unless they fix the issues that are bothering the reigning NFL MVP.
In an interview with TMZ Sports, Favre said the following about Rodgers' situation with the Packers:
"Knowing Aaron, and I think I know him fairly well, if he has a grudge—whether it be against the organization or a player or an archrival or family, friends—he ain't budging.
"Whatever the issue is, if it's not resolved—or even if it's resolved but he feels like they got one up on him—he ain't going to play. Knowing Aaron, he would sit."
ESPN's Adam Schefter reported last week that Rodgers has told some within the Packers organization that he no longer wants to play for the team after spending his entire 16-year NFL career in Green Bay.
Schefter noted that Rodgers is unhappy because of the fact that the Packers selected quarterback Jordan Love in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft without consulting him.
The situation Rodgers finds himself in is similar to what happened with Favre in 2005. Rodgers fell all the way to 24th in the 2005 NFL draft, and the Packers took him despite having a future Hall of Famer in Favre on the roster.
Things were icy between Favre and Rodgers for quite some time, although they have become much more friendly in recent years.
The Favre-Rodgers controversy saw Rodgers sit behind Favre for three years before Favre retired, thus giving Rodgers the starting job. Favre famously unretired almost immediately and played for the New York Jets for one season and the Minnesota Vikings for two.
Rodgers seemed to play with a chip on his shoulder in 2020, as the 37-year-old veteran had one of the best seasons of his career, completing 70.7 percent of his passes for 4,299 yards, 48 touchdowns and just five interceptions en route to winning his third NFL MVP award.
The Packers have been hard at work in an attempt to ease Rodgers' concerns and get him to remain in Green Bay.
Bob McGinn of The Athletic reported that the Packers have offered to make Rodgers the highest-paid quarterback in the league, which is a title currently held by Kansas City Chiefs signal-caller Patrick Mahomes, who makes $45 million annually.
Packers President Mark Murphy wrote last week in a column for the team's official website that he is aware of Rodgers' concerns and has met with Rodgers on multiple occasions, along with general manager Brian Gutekunst and head coach Matt LaFleur.
Murphy made it clear that the Packers have no interest in trading Rodgers, noting that the organization is committed to the future Hall of Famer in 2021 and beyond.
Rodgers is signed through 2023, meaning the Packers are under no obligation to trade him. If Rodgers is serious about ending his tenure with the Packers, however, holding out and retiring are options for him, as Favre alluded to.