With Aaron Rodgers officially inking a deal to be the Pittsburgh Steelers’ starting quarterback, attention has shifted to Week 8. That’s when Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers will be in primetime on Sunday Night Football against their former signal-caller and his new team.
However, while the scenario is somewhat familiar, the circumstances are different. This one will have a different feel than the showdown between Rodgers and Brett Favre.
When Green Bay drafted Rodgers in the first round in 2005, it didn’t sit well with Favre. In a line that became notorious, Favre stated that it was not in his contract to get Rodgers ready to play. There was a coldness in their relationship from the start; it’s been well documented that they never developed much of a working relationship.
That wasn’t the case with Love and Rodgers.
Rodgers couldn’t have been thrilled when Green Bay selected Love in the first round in 2020, but he handled things differently than Favre. By all accounts, Rodgers was an open book in helping his backup quarterbacks, including Love.
Love spoke glowingly of his time with Rodgers during an interview last week with Jason Wilde of ESPN Milwaukee.
I appreciate definitely the way A-Rod handled being in that situation, and I think a big part of it — which he told me — was he knew how it was for him being in that same position, and the things that he went through and the way the situation might’ve been handled (differently). I think his perspective was, “I’m trying to go about this a little bit differently,” which I think was awesome.
Love elaborated on their rapport.
In my time with A-Rod, we had a great relationship. It was awesome being in the same room with him, being able to learn. He was amazing with everything. And I definitely appreciate the way he handled everything on the outside with obviously him leaving and me taking over, and he’s been very supportive of me (since).
There was animosity in the Favre-Rodgers battles. There was disdain and a true grudge.
Much of that had to do with their thorny history together, butthere was another significant factor in play:Favre was in Minnesota. The Packers-Vikings rivalry goes back decades, so the interpersonal rivalry was just gasoline on an already-blazing fire.
But this time around, Rodgers isn’t on the Vikings. He’s not even in the division or the conference.
Green Bay and Pittsburgh are two of the bigger brands in the NFL, but there’s no bad blood between the two. This matchup of Rodgers going up against his old team will generate plenty of hype, and rightfully so. However, it won’t be at quite the same fever pitch.
There’s a final element that makes it far different than two of the Favre-Rodgers battles.
On November 1, 2009, Favre was booed loudly by the crowd at Lambeau Field. The Vikings beat the Packers, 38-26, and Favre was booed again as he exited the field. Rodgers v. Packers undeniably has some drama, but not as much as it would if he were returning to Lambeau. Instead, Love and the Packers will hit the road and head to Pittsburgh. The mystique of Lambeau Field is real, and seeing Rodgers run out of that tunnel in a different uniform would’ve caused quite the unpredictable response from the fans.
Also, keep in mind that Favre retired, came out of retirement, and demanded his job back before being traded to the New York Jets. After one year in New York, he forced his way out to Minnesota to be with the Vikings.
So the disdain from Packers fans was both understandable and predictable. The response Rodgers would receive, playing for a non-rival and under far different circumstances, would be fascinating to watch unfold. Instead, he will play host.
There are some undeniable parallels between the two situations. It starts with Green Bay having a Hall of Fame quarterback still under contract when they draft his obvious replacement in the first round, and it ends with the Packers eventually trading both to the Jets.
But beyond that? Not much.
Love is hoping for a jersey swap after the game in October.
It’s going to be fun. It’s going to be awesome. I’m excited for it. I can’t wait to be on different sides, meeting up, and I know we’ll talk pre-game, things like that. And hopefully we can exchange jerseys after.
Neither party in the Favre-Rodgers battles said it would be awesome in the lead-up, and nobody talked about exchanging jerseys afterward.
Love and Rodgers are super competitive. Both will be fueled by the matchup for different reasons. But it won’t have the same feel as the Favre-Rodgers contests, and that’s just fine and a testament to how Rodgers handled the situation with Love.