Aaron Rodgers has the NFL world hanging by a thread once again as the league waits to see whether he’ll retire after 20 seasons or continue his football career at 41 years old. Rodgers currently has limited options at his disposal, as the New York Jets have moved on and other suitors from earlier in the offseason have already filled their quarterback void.
The future Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback can just decide to retire and put a close to his career. Rodgers does have a team waiting for his services in the Pittsburgh Steelers, but he appears to be dragging out the process of actually signing with them.
Perhaps Rodgers is considering retirement, or maybe he’s actually unsure what he wants to do. Rodgers’ situation isn’t exactly the same situation as the man he replaced as quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, Brett Favre, but the drama-filled offseasons have garnered the same headlines.
The biggest storyline this summer will be what Rodgers ultimately decides. The same held true with Favre 17 years ago.
Favre’s wild 2008
Coming off a 2007 season that was one of the best in Favre’s Hall of Fame career, it was hard to believe the NFL’s all-time passing touchdown leader (at the time) was just going to walk away from the game. Favre led the Packers to the NFC Championship Game in 2007, completing 66.5% of his passes for 4,155 yards for 28 touchdowns to 15 interceptions for a 95.7 passer rating at the age of 38. He finished second to Tom Brady in MVP voting and earned second team All-Pro honors that season after logging the highest completion rate of his career, his most passing yards in a season since 1998 and the highest passer rating in a season since 1996.
Even though Favre retired from the NFL in March of 2008, it was easy to tell he had second thoughts about the decision. The Packers wanted Favre to commit to another season by early March if he wanted to continue as their starting quarterback and not give way to Rodgers, the 2005 first-round pick the franchise had developed for three years. Favre was leaning towards playing, but the Packers appeared ready to turn the page to Rodgers.
Favre didn’t want to commit to the grind of competing for a Super Bowl, knowing his season was a failure if he didn’t win the championship. The added stress of winning that championship, combined with having to make an early decision on returning — not to mention a possible competition with Rodgers — steered Favre away from football.
Of course, Favre knew he could still play. He contacted the Packers about a possible return in July, but it was a letter asking for his unconditional release from the team. (He was still under contract.) Packers general manager Ted Thompson would not grant Favre’s request and announced Rodgers as the team’s next starting quarterback. Even if the Packers wanted to trade Favre, he could void any deal simply by not reporting to the team he was dealt to.
The Packers accused the Minnesota Vikings of tampering charges, as they believed Favre wanted to play there due to the alleged communication between the two sides. The Packers even offered Favre a “$20 million marketing agreement” to stay retired.
Favre formally applied for reinstatement into the NFL on July 29 and was granted it, reporting to Packers training camp the next week. The Packers had a meeting with Favre during which the organization agreed to move on. Favre was traded to the New York Jets in early August after speaking to the Jets and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Packers received a conditional fourth-round pick, which turned into a third-round pick since Favre played 50% of the snaps that season. If Favre played 70% of the snaps, the pick would have elevated into the second round. The Packers could have received a first-round pick if the Jets made the Super Bowl and Favre played 80% of the snaps.
The limited offseason with the Jets definitely hurt Favre, as he led the league with 22 interceptions — but made the Pro Bowl. Favre completed 65.7% of his passes and threw for 3,472 yards and 22 touchdowns as the Jets collapsed from an 8-3 start to finish 9-7 and miss the playoffs. Favre played with a torn biceps tendon in his right shoulder the final month of that season. He retired from the NFL again after the 2008 season, but the Jets released him from his contract and the reserve/retired list later that spring — allowing Favre to sign wherever he wanted.
Favre would sign with the Vikings in August of 2009, having a better handle on how to deal with a limited offseason without a team.
What’s different with Rodgers?
Favre decided to retire in March, but the Hall of Fame quarterback was still at the top of his game and regretted stepping away. The situation is different with Rodgers, in terms of performance and available suitors.
Rodgers had his lowest completion rate (63.0%) since 2019 and the lowest passer rating (90.5) in a full season in his career. He threw for 3,897 yards with 28 touchdowns to 11 interceptions with the Jets, as they bottomed out to a 5-12 record.
Being a free agent, Rodgers can sign wherever he wants — but who really wants him? The New York Giants signed Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, the Cleveland Browns signed Joe Flacco and traded for Kenny Pickett while drafting Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders, and the Tennessee Titans drafted Cam Ward No. 1 overall.
The New Orleans Saints need a starting quarterback, but Rodgers said no towards playing there. That leaves the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have Mason Rudolph, rookie Will Howard and Skylar Thompson as their quarterbacks. Rodgers may have been waiting for interest from the Vikings, but they traded for Sam Howell and are moving forward with J.J. McCarthy as the starter.
That leaves Pittsburgh as the lone option to start, and Rodgers could drag this out until training camp if he wanted. That decision didn’t work out as well for Favre in 2008, but he signed with the Vikings during training camp in 2009.
The second time taking an offseason off was significantly better. Favre wanted to prove he could still play at a high level and had arguably the best season of his career at age 40, completing 68.4% of his passes while throwing for 4,202 yards and 33 touchdowns to just seven interceptions (107.2 passer rating). He won NFC Offensive Player of the Week three times and made the Pro Bowl, finishing third in the league in completion percentage, second in touchdowns, second in touchdown percentage (6.2%), second in interception percentage (1.3), and second in passer rating.
The Vikings reached the NFC Championship Game, and Favre helped them take the eventual Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints to overtime. Favre threw a costly interception in the extra quarter that derailed the Vikings’ first Super Bowl appearance since the 1976 season, but he still became the first quarterback to start and win a playoff game at the age of 40. Minnesota went from a fringe playoff team to Super Bowl contender in Favre’s first season with the team, as he had six 300-yard games and three games with four passing touchdowns.
Could the same transpire with Rodgers? Perhaps, but he has no history with offensive coordinator Arthur Smith like Favre had with Darrell Bevell (his offensive coordinator in Minnesota). Favre had no history with then-Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, and the end result was disastrous.
If Rodgers does end up in Pittsburgh, it may be wise for him to sign by mandatory minicamp June 10-12. If he drags this out until training camp, he may be writing his own eulogy for his final NFL season (if he decides to play at all).
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Author: Jeff Kerr
May 26, 2025 | 5:35 pm
