Time is a flat circle. And the Green Bay Packers are stuck in the loop.
Once upon a time, a Hall of Fame quarterback became disgruntled by the drafting of a first-round quarterback and made his feelings well-known inside and outside the organization. Once again, a Hall of Fame quarterback is disgruntled about another first-round quarterback and how the organization is handling his situation.
The man at the center of the previous kerfuffle, Brett Favre, knows better than anyone how Aaron Rodgers feels, having been in a comparable -- if not exactly equal -- situation. Having spent years around a young Rodgers, knowing how the QB operates and having acute knowledge of the Packers organization puts Favre in a unique position to analyze the current drama in Green Bay.
According to the HOFer, Rodgers is unlikely to back down.
"Knowing Aaron, and I think I know him fairly well, if he has a grudge, whether it be against the organization or a player or an arch-rival, or family, friends, he ain't budging," he said on the "Bolling with Favre" podcast. "I don't see him coming back and saying -- if this is not resolved, however, whatever the issue is -- if it's not resolved, or even if it's resolved but he feels like they have one up on him, he ain't gonna play. Knowing Aaron, he would sit. Now, he would forego a lot of money, but he's also got a lot money."
If Rodgers abruptly retired -- to take the Jeopardy! job or otherwise -- he'd owe the Packers roughly $23 million over the next two years, per NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport. That's no chump change, but Rodgers isn't the type to bend to another's will.
While we haven't heard directly from Rodgers throughout this saga, Favre said on ESPN's Wilde & Tausch show Wednesday he texted No. 12 over the weekend.
"I just sent Aaron a message asking, 'Hey, am I going to see you playing for the Saints this year,'" Favre joked, via WTMJ Radio. "He (Aaron) replied, saying, 'Thanks for checking on me, I'll touch base with you after all this is over,' and that was it ... we haven't talked since."
Until we hear directly from Rodgers, the cycle will continue to unravel roughly.
General manager Brian Gutekunst sits at the center of Rodgers' ire in part for trading up to draft Jordan Love his eventual replacement and for not providing what the QB apparently perceives as enough help to win another Super Bowl.
The déjà vu for Packers backers is growing thicker by the day.
On Monday, legendary Green Bay beat reporter Bob McGinn reported that Rodgers has mocked Gutekunst in group chats with teammates, referring to the Packers GM as Jerry Krause, the former Chicago Bulls general manager who Michael Jordan reviled during the 1990s for moves the star disagreed with at the time.
During his tenure, Favre publicly blasted then-GM Ted Thompson for not trading for Randy Moss back in 2007, striking a similar tone to Rodgers' current critiques of the Packers brass not providing enough weapons.
What was old is new again -- including the QB-induced offseason headaches in Packersville.
