Aaron Rodgers faces both of his former teams in the 2025 season as he begins a new chapter with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The four-time MVP and his new squad host the Green Bay Packers in primetime on Oct. 26 — a highly anticipated matchup against the franchise he led for 18 seasons and helped win a Super Bowl in his third year as a starter. Now, his successor Jordan Love hopes to follow a similar path and is looking forward to the reunion.
“It’s going to be fun,” Love told Chanel3000’s Jason Wilde. “It’s going to be awesome. I’m excited for it. I can’t wait to be on different sides meeting up. I know we’ll talk pregame, things like that, and then hopefully we can exchange jerseys after.”
Love led Green Bay to consecutive playoff appearances in the first two seasons after Rodgers was traded to the New York Jets in April 2023. He owns an 18-15 overall record as a starter in the regular season, throwing for 7,548 yards and 57 touchdowns with 22 interceptions.
The Packers drafted Love in the first round in 2020, a move that stirred controversy and foreshadowed the eventual end of Rodgers’ run in Green Bay. Rodgers responded with back-to-back NFL MVP awards in 2020 and 2021, delaying any immediate transition while Love developed as a backup — much like Rodgers did behind Brett Favre.
“I appreciate definitely the way A-Rod handled being in that situation, and I think a big part of it — which he told me — 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],” Love said. “I think his perspective was, ‘I’m trying to go about this a little bit differently,’ which I think was awesome.
“In my time with A-Rod, we had a great relationship,” Love continued. “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.”
After a disappointing two-year stint with the Jets — which began with a torn Achilles just four plays into the 2023 season opener and ended with a 5-12 finish in 2024 as the starter — Rodgers signed a one-year, $13 million deal with the Steelers.
“I was excited for A-Rod,” Love said. “I don’t think I was too surprised. I feel like there was a lot of rumors going on throughout the whole offseason about him going to the Steelers. I was excited for him that he’s going back and playing. There were also rumors that he might be done, so just knowing he’s going to keep playing, that’s pretty awesome.”
Rodgers won’t wait long for a return to New York when the Steelers face the Jets in the season opener Sept. 7 on CBS. The 41-year-old begins his revenge tour after sounding bitter about how things ended during an April interview with Pat McAfee.
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Author: Cody Nagel
June 8, 2025 | 10:25 am
