Aaron Rodgers: Jordan Love Can 'Blaze His Own Trails, Be His Own Man' as Packers QB

Now that he's a member of the New York Jets, star quarterback Aaron Rodgers believes former teammate Jordan Love will benefit from no longer having to sit behind the surefire Hall of Famer in the Green Bay Packers' depth chart.

"(Love) gets a chance to blaze his own trails, be his own man and lead in the way he best sees fit," Rodgers told The Athletic's Matt Schneidman. "Take the good things he learned from me; things he would do differently, do 'em differently. That's what I did when I took over.

"Obviously the team felt good with moving forward with him as the starter, and that's how the team felt in 2008 with me after I showed in '07 that I could get the job done. And history just repeated itself in that sense."

As the four-time MVP referenced, he's speaking from experience. He spent his first three years in the NFL backing up Brett Favre, a dynamic that became increasingly difficult as Favre waffled about his playing status.

Succeeding a legend is never easy. In Love's case, there at least seems to be a broad acknowledgement he may not hit the ground running in the same way Rodgers did. Expectations are being held in check.

The 2020 first-round pick has thrown for 606 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions and completed 60.2 percent of his passes in 10 appearances.

He's also taking the reins when Green Bay is in a period of transition. The Packers won eight games and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2018 last year, and Rodgers' return may not have guaranteed they would have avoided a similar fate in 2023.

While the team is firmly committed to Love for now, the structure of his recent contract extension speaks to how the franchise is hedging its bets a bit. Rather than picking up his $20.3 million option for 2024, Green Bay agreed to an extension that guarantees him $13.5 million and could go up to $22.5 million.

"It's a lot of money for a guy who hasn't played, but at the same time we're moving forward with him," general manager Brian Gutekunst said of the fifth-year option days before striking the agreement.

By trading Rodgers to New York, the Packers provided Love with the chance to sink or swim.