Aaron Rodgers knows precisely what Jordan Love went through this offseason, with the young signal-caller having to answer questions about a future over which he had little control.
Rodgers spent three years behind Brett Favre to start his career after being drafted in the first round. His career began with a disgruntled Farve hemming-and-hawing about his future in Green Bay, then ultimately returning and sending Rodgers back to the bench.
So, this offseason, knowing what his disagreement with the Packers organization would mean for Love, Rodgers kept the second-year QB in the loop throughout the process.
“And then I just reached out; I reached out a number of times [to] check on him [and] see how he’s doing,” Rodgers said Wednesday, via Rob Demovsky of ESPN. “I didn’t hold things from him. I let him know where I was at mentally and what I was thinking about. And hopefully he appreciated that.
“I just felt that’s what I would want in that situation, just to hear from the guy. And also, there’s a love and an appreciation and a friendship there, just like it was with me and Brett. So I wanted to make sure I checked in with him and let him know I was thinking about him.”
Knowing the pressure Love would feel, Rodgers wanted to ensure the young QB didn’t think his issue with the organization was personal towards Love.
“I have a lot of respect and love for Jordan, and I understand it’s got to be tough what he went through,” Rodgers said. “I went through it for two years in the offseason, going in ’06 and ’07, I was the guy the entire offseason, going through quarterback school, going through most of the OTAs, taking all the reps, and then here comes Favrey coming back — and obviously I’m back on the bench. Thankfully I went through that, and I can understand a little bit about what he’s going through, so I just try to keep that in mind the entire time.”
While Favre famously said it wasn’t in his contract to tutor Rodgers, the latter has taken up that mentorship mantel regarding Love. Keeping the young QB in the loop and ensuring he didn’t get the sense that Rodgers was annoyed with him for being on the roster was part of that teaching. Of course, it helped that Rodgers knew whenever he did return, Love wasn’t a threat to take his job at this stage.
