Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson used to be longtime nemeses due to their status as quarterbacks on competing NFC powerhouse teams. But Rodgers believes the two quarterbacks are now united somewhat by a common enemy.
Rodgers joined “The Pat McAfee Show” for his weekly Tuesday appearance. During his interview, Rodgers was asked for his thoughts on the Wilson situation. Wilson admitted last week that the Denver Broncos had threatened to bench him if he did not adjust his contract. Denver ultimately benched Wilson for Weeks 17 and 18.
Rodgers praised Wilson for speaking publicly about the situation and for the way he’s handled things. He also said that the two are united based on the principle that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
“Russ and I have had some battles over the years. There was a great rivalry, and we couldn’t seem to beat them … in Seattle. They couldn’t beat us in Green Bay,” Rodgers said, referring to their respective times with the Packers and Seahawks.
“I think we have more of a common enemy based on some comments that have been said about a dear friend of mine, and then seeing this come out,” Rodgers said.
The common enemy would be Broncos head coach Sean Payton. Rodgers probably wouldn’t have any negative sentiment toward Payton if it weren’t for what the current Denver coach said about the Broncos’ previous head coach.
Speaking before the start of the season, Payton absolutely obliterated Nathaniel Hackett, who went 4-11 in his lone season as Denver’s head coach in 2022 before being fired. Rodgers responded by coming to the defense of Hackett, who had served as Rodgers’ offensive coordinator with the Packers from 2019-2021.
Those comments from Payton have not been forgotten by Rodgers, who now feels like both he and Wilson have something against the coach.
You can watch the full comments in the video clip, just beware of some bad language.
"I think Russell Wilson has handled what happened in Denver pretty well and I applaud him for speaking on it..
That's a pretty scandalous situation and he was definitely playing better than he did last year" ~ @AaronRodgers12 #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/rPqm9y5pKI
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 2, 2024
