BRETT FAVRE BELIEVES AARON RODGERS WILL LEAVE GREEN BAY PACKERS: 'HE'LL PLAY SOMEWHERE ELSE'
Brett Favre believes Green Bay Packers
Brett Favre believes Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers will not finish his career in Wisconsin after the franchise drafted Jordan Love last week.
The Packers' decision to trade up four spots to select the Utah State quarterback raised eyebrows in the NFL, as not only did the franchise not add the receiver Rodgers had
been crying out for, but it also signalled it has began planning for life after its veteran quarterback.
Favre knows a thing or two
Favre knows a thing or two about being replaced by a younger signal caller. He was 37 when the Packers drafted Rodgers as his heir apparent in 2005 and while the latter
sat for his first three seasons in the NFL, he eventually got the starting job when Favre left for the New York Jets.
The prospect of Rodgers following in his predecessor's footsteps and playing for another franchise before retiring may have seemed unthinkable before the draft, but
the Packers selecting Love last week may have drastically changed the scenario.
"I think he'll play somewhere else
"I think he'll play somewhere else," Favre said Wednesday on the Rich Eisen Show on NBC Sports Network.
Asked whether he thought Rodgers will finish his career in Green Bay, Favre doubled down on his suggestion.
"My gut tells me no," he explained. "I don't know this for certain, but I guarantee you, it's got the wheels turning in Aaron's mind. If that's the case, then that means there's a
chip on his shoulder toward the organization that otherwise was not there. All he needs is a reason other than this reason to expedite that."
Favre's words mark a significant
Favre's words mark a significant change of dynamic from earlier this week, when the former NFL star suggested Rodgers understood the franchise needed to plan for the future.
"It's funny because Aaron and I were talking about it last year, how he gets how I was when he came in," he told TMZ Sports. "Because now he's at that age that I was
when he came in, and so it's getting about time that you start looking at drafting a guy or picking someone up in free agency."
On one hand, the decision to draft Love makes sense for the Packers. Rodgers, while still brilliant—he steered Green Bay to a 13-3 season that only ended in the NFC
Championship Game
Championship Game—he will be 37 in December and the Packers will have to replace him sooner or later.
At 6 feet 5 inches, 225 pounds, Love is the prototype of the modern, mobile quarterback and is blessed with great arm strength. However he's still very raw and
threw for 20 touchdowns and 17 interceptions last year. The prospect of Love playing understudy to Rodgers makes perfect sense for both the rookie and the Packers.
On the other hand, Green Bay's decision to trade up four spots—they traded the 30th overall pick and a fourth-round pick to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for the 26th pick—went against the franchise's more pressing needs.
As Peter King pointed out in his Football Morning in America column on Monday, over the last six NFL drafts and six free agency windows, the Packers have neither selected a wide receiver nor signed one up in free agency for a salary higher than $5 million a season.
By comparison, the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, who met in Super Bowl LIV in February, selected a combined 10 wide receivers over the same period of time.
Favre spoke to Rodgers and he revealed the latter had been blindsided by the Packers' decision to yet again pass on drafting a wide receiver.
"I'm not going to talk about all that we talked about, but he was [...] let's just say surprised that they went in that direction," he said on the Rich Eisen Show on Wednesday.
Rodgers is a year younger than Favre was when the Packers drafted him and has previously stated he intends to play until his 40th birthday, while Favre had openly hinted at retirement even before his successor arrived into the NFL.
Rodgers has thrown for over 4,000 yards in the last three seasons he has completed—he played only seven games in an injury-curtailed 2017 campaign—and while no longer at his peak, he remains one of the outstanding quarterbacks in the game.
However, forcing his way out of Green Bay won't be easy for the veteran quarterback, should he wish to do so.
The two-time MVP has four years left on the four-year, $134 million extension he signed in 2018.
Because of the way his contract is structured—his dead cap hit drops from $31 million in the 2021 season to $17.2 million and $2.8 million in the following two seasons—he is unlikely to be moved on before 2022, by when he will be 39.
