Aaron Rodgers is a first ballot Hall of Famer and a Packers legend. The number 12 jersey will most likely be retired.

It was never going to last forever and it seems now is a good time for both parties to move on. From his offseason antics to a difficult 2022 campaign, Rodgers’ future has been in doubt for some time. Here is why the Packers MUST move on from Aaron Rodgers.

Ripping Off The Band Aid

Rodgers’ stats speak for themselves. 10 Pro Bowls, 4 MVP awards and a Super Bowl. 59,055 career passing yards and 475 passing touchdowns.

With only five losing seasons in the 15 he has spent as the starting quarterback and only three seasons where he has played ten games or more and had less than 4,000 passing yards, the transition from Brett Favre to Rodgers could not have gone any smoother.

However, this season has been tough. Rodgers flirted with the idea of leaving the franchise until he was offered a new $150 million deal in March 2022.

His performances on the field were below par for someone who had won back-to-back MVP awards.  It was his first season since the 2010 campaign that he threw for double digit interceptions, and just the third time in his career.

At some point in every athlete’s career, there comes a time where your body starts to fail you. At the age of 39, it is safe to say Rodgers has reached father time in his career. Not every quarterback can do what Tom Brady did and play into their 40’s and do so at an elite level.

The Packers had no problem trading away Brett Favre and it feels that now is the time for the Green Bay front office to look towards the future, once Rodgers is back from his darkness retreat.

Waiting In The Wings

Jordan Love was drafted in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, much to the shock of the Packers fanbase.

Love has had three years to sit behind Rodgers. At some point you need to see what he has got. Otherwise, you might as well trade him away.

Love got his chance on the field in 2022 and looked comfortable during the 40-33 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, who eventually won the NFC.

Love may have only attempted nine passes but threw for 113 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions. He looked comfortable in the system and with a full offseason with starter reps, he would go into the 2023 season with plenty of confidence.

Packers general manager Brian Gutenkurst spoke of the “offseason additions” that Love will need to consider. Running back Aaron Jones spoke of Love’s readiness. NFL reporter Bob McGinn gave his take on the Love situation. He said: “They love Jordan Love. They think he is the second coming now. They’ve seen enough in practice for three years, that they believe he is Rodgers 2.0. That’s where this organization is coming from right now.”

Love showed his potential in college with Utah State, throwing for 60 touchdowns and 29 interceptions in three seasons. It feels that it is now Love’s time and they will hope he is the future. If this was not to work out, then there are plenty of draft picks or free agency pickups that could fix the QB position. Either way, Rodgers needs to be moved on for the good of everyone involved.

The time has come.

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The Green Bay Packers are rightfully firm on coming out guns blazing with Aaron Rodgers in 2022. It’s also very likely that they make Rodgers the highest-paid player in the league soon. After all, burning man Rodgers has won MVP in 2020 and 2021.

The Packers are criticized for drafting Jordan Love in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft. Love was picked to be the potential heir to A-Rod, but two things seem clear: Love isn’t ready to start in the NFL and the Packers should use resources to improve the situation around Rodgers.

There’s been speculation and rants from cheeseheads with torches that Love should be shipped out of Green Bay. I really don’t believe they should trade their 23-year-old QB.

A lot of fans believe if the Pack trade away Love, they will automatically receive a talented WR2 in return via the draft or in a Love trade itself. This is a magical, silly, thought in every way. If the Packers trade away Love, they would likely garner a Day 3 draft pick for him.

I am convinced that the idea of trading Love with his current value is a terrible idea. Love isn’t only the best backup option in an NFC team that’s pushing to win a Super Bowl in the near future, but he’s still familiar with the system and filled with unique abilities. If they trade Love, they will also need a new potential heir for Love.

Rodgers will most likely play a few more seasons for the Packers and he could potentially retire sooner if they win a Super Bowl trophy next season. Love can be groomed to replace Rodgers when the time is ready. Love is only 23 years old, which is the same age as Mac Jones, a year younger than Sam Darnold, and five years younger than Jameis Winston.

Let’s not forget that Brett Favre and Peyton Manning were far from superb QBs early in their career. Favre threw a whopping 24 interceptions in his third season in the league. It’s safe to say the Packers can still be patient with Love, who has earned enough trust to still have a chair behind Rodgers in 2022. When Rodgers isn’t in the building anymore, they can certainly have cap space to add ammunition around Love at that point, as well.

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By: Jake Rajala

The NFL Top 100 team of all time was voted by gifted football minds in early 2018 and introduced to the football world through a TV series in November of 2019. The notable quarterback position featured ten gifted talents at its vital position. Here are the QBs that landed on the mythical list: Tom Brady, John Elway, Brett Favre, Otto Graham, Peyton Manning, Dan Marino, Roger Staubach, Johnny Unitas, Joe Montana, and Sammy Baugh. Keep in mind that these players were partially voted for the success they yielded in their decade. As expected, it is incredibly hard to judge the success and stats of Johnny Unitas in comparison to the production of Peyton Manning. 

Even if the Top 100 list held respected figures throughout the history of the NFL, they had a job to figure out how who deserved to be on the list and it couldn’t largely be separated into success in each decade. In other words, they likely had to pick more successful QBs in a certain period compared to other periods. So, the Top QB list rightfully had five out of 10 QBs that played and dominated in the 90s. The talent of those QBs in the 90s overweighed the success and level of competition portrayed by some QBs in the 60s or 2000s. 

With this being enunciated, I still believe there was a QB that deserved to be in the Top 100. This profile is none other than former Saints QB and future Hall of Fame QB Drew Brees. I believe that Brees clearly has to be over the similar time period signal-caller in Brett Favre and I also feel comfortable saying he should have a sliver more of praise over John Elway. 

It’s a joke that a large case against Brees is that “he played in an easier, passing era” (besides the fact that Favre played in a similar league). Yes, Brees did play in an era where CBs need to have very sound technique and WRs have more opportunities than ever before. Still, Brees decorated the NFL with his touch on the highest level for countless years. Here is a greek-god stat by the former Saints QB that is hardly ever mentioned. 

Drew Brees has five, 5,000 yard passing seasons. There is only one other QB that has thrown for more than 5,000 yards in a season and that’s Tom Brady, who did it twice. The seven-time Super Bowl champion, Tom Brady threw for 5,235 yards in 2011 and 5,316 yards in the 17 game season in 2021-2022.

Here is the more impressive aspect of Brees mowing down every defense in his 5,000-yard seasons. Here is the list of Brees’s top receivers in the receiving yards category: UDFA Lance Moore, third-round pick TE Jimmy Graham (twice), seventh-round pick Marques Colston, and then first-round WR Brandin Cooks. It’s very simple and clear that Brees played with modest talent, but he was able to uplift the talent around him. 

Brees is also second in all-time passing touchdowns, passing yards, pass completions, and fifth all-time in passer rating. Favre is 42nd in passer rating and Elway is 87th all-time in passer rating. 

Brees also has 53 game-winning drives, which is just second behind Peyton Manning (54 game-winning drives). That is absolutely nuts. Brees went 7-9 in four of the five seasons from 2012-2016. To say he was in a plethora of non-winnable games over that time period would be an understatement. But, he still accumulated 53 game-winning drives in his career. Elway’s reputation is largely known for his comeback drives and he put together 40, which is just a bit below Brees’s mark. 

Brees is arguably the best “regular-season” QB in NFL history.

It’s no shock that Brees is a stat machine and even winning machine throughout most of his career, but he does not compare well in playoff success to the likes of Tom Brady and 49ers legend Joe Montana. A championship victory should be a significant factor, but it shouldn’t tell the whole tale of each legendary QBs. Playoffs are truly a very short season that can resemble teams that are largely aided by elite defensive play. For example, we’ve witnessed the Steelers and Giants arguably carry their QBs in Ben Roethlisberger and Eli Manning. So, the younger Manning brother does have two Super Bowl victories ”“ which is one more than Brees. Still, there shouldn’t be a world where anyone believes Eli has a legacy close to that of Brees. 

With that said, there is a lot of speculation that there is a grand difference between that of Brees and two-time Super Bowl champion Elway. It’s well noted that Brees has had Gregg Williams, Rob Ryan, and Free Safety Marcus Williams giving up big offensive plays in the postseason like candy. But, let’s put that aside. Even if we pretend Drew Brees deserved a historically low defense for many years and a non-championship caliber defense was left to support him in the playoffs, he’s still been disrespected other ways at large in the playoffs. A very interesting and not talked postseason moment for Drew Brees lies in the 2019 NFC Championship game where the Saints were basically stripped of an NFC Championship trophy. The infamous no-call of clear pass interference by Nickel Robey-Coleman on Tommy Lee Lewis kept the Saints from attempting a chip shot field goal to edge out the Rams in the NFC championship. That is a fact.  

So, if Brees went to his second Super Bowl against the Patriots (who scored 13 pts in the game) and won, wouldn’t it be obvious that Brees had put together a better career than Favre AND Elway at that point? Of course, Brees didn’t win a second Super Bowl. I still don’t quite see a noticeable difference in Brees playing for a second Super Bowl and Elway winning two SB trophies (hypothesizing if there was a pass interference call on Robey-Coleman). Brees performed like a quality QB leading up to that penalty (excluding overtime) and “basically put his team in the seat for a Super Bowl competition”. Could there be any difference in judgment in his play leading up to the worst non-pass interference call in NFL history based on that penalty? The answer has to be no. 

Keep in mind that I’m not comparing his performance in a game to that of the “Minneapolis Miracle” or even the “49ers miracle” when Vernon Davis scored a last-minute touchdown against the Gregg Williams-led Saints defense. I’m straight up mentioning the same Saints-Rams game that had Boomer Esiason stating that the Saints got cheated out of a Super Bowl appearance on CBS after the game. Furthermore, the New York Post properly stated that the Saints were cheated out of a Super Bowl berth.

Even with Brees claiming only one SB trophy, he still ought to be recognized more profoundly in comparison with Brett Favre “in the playoffs”. Favre has a passer rating of 86.3, 5,855 passing yards, and 44 passing touchdowns to 30 interceptions in his playoff pocket (24 games). Meanwhile, the Black and Gold QB legend accumulated a 97.1 passer rating, 5,366 passing yards, 37 passing touchdowns to 15 interceptions in his 18 playoff games. It’s clear that Brees has been even more productive than Favre in his “frozen tundra” playoff showdowns. This is besides the fact that Favre lost to Brees in the 2009 NFC championship. 

It can be easy to pretend there’s magic dust with very talented QBs who record playoff prominence and numerous Super Bowl victories. The Super Bowl-winning QBs will often perform at a high level, but it’s truly a vital team game in a very short-lived season. It isn’t Elway’s fault that a ref didn’t blow a game for him, or that he had a talented defense and 2,000-yard rusher in Terrell Davis to help him, but utterly odd factors should be more recognized, and supporting casts truly play a slight factor. On a side note – the top 100 NFL team of all time was voted prior to the 2019 NFC playoffs.

Supporting casts are also a modest factor and it should be recognized that Brees had a much less talented crew in the playoffs and regular season than the likes of Favre and Elway, as well. If we can point out that Dan Marino performed like a rockstar in an age where passing attempts weren’t at large, it’s fair to say Brees was a titan with a god-awful supporting cast for a large period of his career. It’s especially worth noting external factors when there is only a slight difference of postseason riches between that of Brees and some other HOF QBs with similar talent.

Brees truly deserved to be in the NFL Top 100 team. Yes, it’s easy to simply acknowledge that Elway has one more Super Bowl ring. It’s also unchallenging to know that Favre and Elway were like Sports Illustrated cover boys or white knights for many, many years in their playing days. It’s still more clear at this day in age that Brees deserves to be credited with a spot over Favre and Elway in the illustrious all-time QB list.

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By: Tayyib Abu

It is easy to forget the past in an era of non-stop 24-hour sports coverage, memes, GIFs, and instant hot-takes. Sports fans inhibit a bubble surrounded by recency bias. Everything we see on a Sunday gets labelled as ‘the greatest thing we’ve ever seen’; fans are too quick at forgetting history.

That is why it is time to jump in the DeLorean and examine why former Green Bay Packer quarterback Brett Favre was such a special player.

The Ultimate Entertainer

Favre came into the league after he got drafted by the Falcons. Favre didn’t feature in Atlanta’s plans, and the team traded him to Green Bay. Favre’s career would come alive in Titletown. Favre came into the league after he got drafted by the Falcons. Favre didn’t feature in Atlanta’s plans, and the team traded him to Green Bay. Favre’s career would come alive in Titletown.

Favre entered the league with a reputation as one of the hardest throwers of a ball. Favre’s baseball background developed his incredible ability to throw with astonishing velocity and from different angles. Before Matthew Stafford and Patrick Mahomes, there was Brett Favre.

Favre started life as a backup in Green Bay; he entered his debut game as an injury substitution. His first completed pass was to himself. That was the first sign of things to come in Favre’s career. Favre entered games in the early phase of his career with one aim, hit home runs.

Favre possessed the talent to make any throw from any platform wherever he was on the field. That made him the ultimate entertainer. Favre would drive Mike Holmgren insane with his ill-discipline and willingness to play out of the structure.

While Favre drove his coaches mad, he wowed and entertained fans all over the NFL. Some professionals play the game far too seriously. Favre played like he was in his backyard with his friends;

he enjoyed playing in the NFL and wanted to have fun. Favre desired to entertain fans and his friends. Despite his accolades, records and successes, Favre’s x-factor and willingness to engage fans are what made him so special.

There have been better quarterbacks than Favre, but none of them thrilled with Favre’s unique blend of talent, courage and chaos. As the years fade by, the yardage numbers, turnovers etc., get forgotten; we only remember the style. And Favre’s style of play was unforgettable.

The Ironman

The other thing that underlined Favre’s special qualities was his Iron Man streak. Favre started in 297 consecutive games. Despite the concussions, injuries and various niggles, Favre continued to trot out onto the field to lead his team. Peyton Manning was the NFL’s Sherrif, Tom Brady was the Golden Boy, and Brett Favre was the unbreakable, unbendable Iron Man.

Even after his father’s death, Favre took the field on a Monday night and turned up for his teammates and fans. His dedication and love for the game marked him out from his contemporaries.

Watching Favre get back up after taking big hits, his jersey stained with grass, and the pads uneven was a sight to see. To start 297 games straight in the NFL is one of the most extraordinary achievements in history.

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By: Dylan Parkes

The Green Bay Packers are one of the NFL’s most longest and successful franchises. Founded in 1919 by Earl “Curly” Lambeau, the Packers quickly established themselves as an NFL powerhouse despite being the smallest city in the league. The Packers won a total of 9 NFL championships in just 60 seasons before the AFL and NFL merger in 1966. 

After the merger the Packers dominated the first two seasons of the NFL. They finished with a 21-6-1 record over the first two seasons and comprehensively won the first two Super Bowls by a combined margin of 68-24. Headlined by Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi and quarterback Bart Starr, the 1960’s Packers were perhaps the NFL’s greatest dynasty and the city of Green Bay became accustomed to success. But after Lombardi left the team in 1968 it became a different story. 

The Packers subsequently fell into a long period of losing and would wait 30 years until they tasted victory again, when a Mississippi gunslinger named Brett Favre returned the franchise to the NFL summit alongside defensive lineman Reggie White and coach Mike Holmgren. 

The wait for the next Super Bowl was not as long. In 2005, the Packers lucked out in the draft and selected the franchise’s next great QB Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers had to wait three seasons before he could become a starter, but it all paid off when the Packers won the Super Bowl just five seasons after he was drafted. 

The rich history of Packers quarterbacks has led to Green Bay becoming a staple in the playoffs throughout the history of the NFL. The franchise is forever intertwined with these three names, but in what order do they rank in terms of playoff success? 

3. Brett Favre (1992 – 2007) 

When Brett Favre arrived in Green Bay the Packers were a shell of their former selves. The Packers organisation had entered a long period of futility and only made the playoffs twice over a span of 25 years. The success of the franchise had diminished over time after Vince Lombardi resigned as coach and the fans didn’t have much to cheer about. The only highlight for the franchise during the time period was Hall of Fame wideout James Lofton (1978 – 1986) who restored some sort of hope to a city that craved success. 

So in 1992, when the Packers traded a second round pick for a young, strong-armed sophomore quarterback from Southern Mississippi the fans were sceptical. As it turned out, that trade became the greatest decision the franchise ever made. 

Favre brought success to Green Bay almost immediately. In just his second season he carried the Packers to the playoffs for the first time in a decade and upset the Detroit Lions 28-24. That was the first taste of success for a team that would go on to enjoy a lot more in the years to come.

The Packers would go on to win another 8 playoff games in the 1990’s, with the most notable one being the victory in Super Bowl XXI. The Packers, off the back of Favre’s third straight MVP award, defeated the New England Patriots 35-21 in the Superdome to win the franchise’s third Super Bowl trophy. 

The Packers made the Super Bowl the year after but lost to John Elway and the Denver Broncos. That loss brought upon the end of the 90’s success after going 9-5 in six postseason appearances. With high expectations entering the new millennium, the Packers were only able to gain 3 playoff wins before Favre’s retirement and exit from the Packers following the 2007 NFC Championship loss. 

The Favre led Packers were a wild ride of joy, ecstasy and heartbreak. The team often lived and died on the arm of Favre who’s gunslinger mentality often got the best of him in big games. His legendary career with the Packers was immortalised when he was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016. His time as quarterback with the Packers will forever be remembered, but only ranks him third on the list, behind two all-time Packer greats. 

2. Aaron Rodgers (2008 – Present) 

Aaron Rodgers had the impossible task of replacing Brett Favre in Green Bay. Taking over from one of the franchise’s greatest ever quarterbacks was never going to be easy but Rodgers and the Packers did it seamlessly. 

The three-time MVP quarterback enjoyed success similar to Favre’s early in his career. He made the playoffs in his second year as a starter and went on to win the Super Bowl as the 6- seed the following season. The Super Bowl XLV win was the Packers fourth as a franchise and remains the only one Rodgers has won in his career. 

Rodgers was named Super Bowl MVP and went on to win regular season MVP the following season. The 2011 Packers finished the regular season 15-1 and were ready to repeat as champions until they ran into the New York Giants. Since that loss, the Packers have gone 7-7 in the playoffs and have lost four times in the NFC Championship game. 

While the losses in the playoffs have continued to pile up the play of Aaron Rodgers has not. Rodgers currently has the fourth highest postseason passer rating (100.5) of any quarterback in NFL history while also being tied for the 2nd most ever playoff touchdown passses (45) with Joe Montana. Rodgers passed Favre in all-time playoff touchdown passess in the 2020 NFC Championship game and did so playing in less games while throwing less passess. 

His consistent level of play coupled with the team’s success is why Rodgers slightly edges Favre on the Packers all time quarterback list. Both quarterbacks had similar career paths when it came to team success, but when it boils down to it, Rodgers gets the slight advantage because of playoff consistency and level of play.

1. Bart Starr (1956-1971) 

Bart Starr, together with Vince Lombardi, dominated the NFL in the 1960’s and undoubtedly remain the league’s greatest ever dynasty. The Packers steamrolled opponents during the decade and won NFL championships in 1961, 1962, 1965, 1966 and 1967. The final two championships won were the NFL’s first two ever Super Bowl’s. 

Lombardi’s Packers used a simple yet effective approach using the power sweep running game to crush opponents into the ground. The ground and pound approach led to five NFL Championships in seven seasons with Lombardi as head coach while having an overall record of 9-1 in the postseason. 

While the running game was the Packers bread and butter, the continuity of the team relied heavily on a skinny, Alabama quarterback to run the show. Starr’s influence on the Packers cannot be underestimated. He has the highest postseason passer rating (104.8) of any quarterback in NFL history, best winning percentage (90%) of any quarterback to start a minimum of 10 games, best touchdown percentage (7%), best interception percentage 1.4% and most adjusted yards per attempt (9.0). Starr’s records become even more impressive when you take into consideration the era he played in. From 1960-1967, the average quarterback passer rating ranged from 64.0 to 66.6. Starr’s rating was 40 points higher than the league average at a time when throwing the ball was difficult for almost every team. His playoff resume speaks for itself (5 time champion, 2 Super Bowl MVPs) and will go down as the greatest of all-time in Packers postseason history. Aaron Rodgers, it’s now your turn.

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