Aaron Rodgers spent the first 18 seasons of his career with the Packers, winning four MVPs and a Super Bowl during that time.
Now the 41-year-old Rodgers is preparing to face the Packers for the first time in another jersey as he will lead the Pittsburgh Steelers into their game against Green Bay on Sunday.
Ahead of the matchup, Aaron Rodgers discussed his time in Green Bay and his emotions entering the game.
"I don’t have any animosity towards the organization,“ Rodgers said. ”Obviously I wish that things would’ve been better during our last year there, but I have a great relationship with a lot of people still in that organization.
“This is not a revenge game for me, I’m just excited to see some of those guys and be on Sunday Night Football again.”
While Rodgers insists he no longer has any ill will towards the Packers, he did admit that it took him some time to get to that point.
He was still playing at an extremely high level entering the 2020 season, yet Green Bay drafted Cal QB Jordan Love with its first round pick.
That selection took Rodgers some time to get over, but he has moved on now.
“We’re always working on ourselves and trying to be better than we were the previous day, previous month, previous year. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, maybe,” Aaron Rodgers said.
“You know, I have a lot of great memories from my time there, a lot of great interactions with fans over the years, you know. … I grew up there, I spent 18 years there, from 21 to 39. So I’m thankful for my time there."
The Packers could have brought Rodgers help with their first round pick in 2020, but they went with a quarterback instead.
The move could have been costly as Rodgers went on to win the MVP in 2020 and 2021. The Packers lost in the NFC Championship Game and in the divisional round of the playoffs those two years.
“Obviously would’ve loved to ride off into the sunset after a Super Bowl win, but that’s not the way the league goes sometimes,” Aaron Rodgers said. “You know, I knew the writing was on the wall when Jordan was picked, and it was a matter of time.
“I happened to win MVP the first two years he was with us, but I knew at some point there would be a change, and if I wanted to play it would have to be elsewhere.”
Now he is playing elsewhere and is playing well for the 4-2 Steelers.
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