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Reports leaked on the first day of the NFL
Draft that Rodgers was miffed with the Packers, specifically
their front office, and told some within the organization he'd
never play for them again. In a radio interview with ESPN
Wisconsin, Favre said he wasn't optimistic Rodgers would return.
"I think I know Aaron fairly well," Favre said, "and honestly I
just don't see him coming back and just saying, ‘All right,
let's just bury the hatchet, whatever caused the rift, and I'm
just going to come back and play because I love the guys, I love
the Green Bay fans' -- I assume he does -- but his rift isn't
with the fans or the players. It's with the front office. Will
he just swallow his pride and come in? Maybe. But I don't see
that happening."
Favre even envisioned how the situation will unfold.
"If there's not a trade, my gut tells me that he'd rather sit
out than play. That's just my gut," Favre said. "There's no
reason for me to say that other than that's what my gut's
telling me, and I think you guys know Aaron fairly well enough
to sort of feel the same way."
Publicly, the Packers have committed to Rodgers being their
quarterback in 2021 and beyond. The reigning league MVP led the
Packers to a Super Bowl XLV victory in February 2011, but they
haven't been back to the title game since.
Among Rodgers' reported grievances are that the Packers selected
a quarterback, Jordan Love, in the first round of the 2020 draft
rather than a wide receiver, and that he felt slighted that the
team released receiver Jake Kumerow one day after he praised
Kumerow in an interview.
Favre was in a similar situation with Rodgers waiting to take
over behind him. Green Bay now has Love waiting in the wings.
Three years after Rodgers was drafted, Favre was pushed out in a
trade to the New York Jets as the Rodgers era began.
Favre said he hopes Rodgers can deliver another Super Bowl to
Green Bay before the end of his time there.
"But the thing is, life's too short," he added. "I want him to
be happy. He's been there as long as I was there, and I know
what that means, and he's put up unbelievable numbers. Win
another Super Bowl and then do what you want to do, whether it's
keep playing, play somewhere else, whatever. But win one more in
Green Bay and go out the way you want to go out."
Favre said he sent a text to Rodgers on Thursday when the news
of him wanting out first broke.
Rodgers told Favre, "‘Thanks for checking on me. I'll touch base
with you after all this is over.'"
"And that was it," Favre added. "We haven't talked since."
--Field Level Media
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