The Green Bay Packers did not want to pay Greg Jennings the same amount of money some other teams on the open market were willing to spend, so the two-time Pro Bowler decided to stick it to them by signing a five-year, $45 million with the Minnesota Vikings. As Brett Favre, Darren Sharper and Ryan Longwell could tell you, jumping from the Packers to their NFC North rivals is nothing new. In fact, Jennings says Favre helped him decide that Minnesota was the best place to continue his career.
“Literally, as I got off the plane and (offensive coordinator Bill) Musgrave walked up to me, I’m on the phone with Brett,” Jennings told KFAN’s Paul Allen on Monday, via Scout.com. “I spoke with Brett two or three times throughout this process. He shot me straight. I knew if there was one person that would shoot straight and tell me exactly what I wanted to hear and things I possibly didn’t want to hear, it would be Brett. He did that for me.”
I wonder if Favre advised Jennings to first retire, then come back, then retire again and then join the Vikings. It seemed to work out nicely for Brett, who had one of the best years of his career in 2009 with Minnesota before actually retiring following the 2010 season.
While we’re not surprised that Favre would be convincing guys to leave Green Bay and join a rival, it must be weird for Packers fans. Usually when a player spends 17 seasons with a team he becomes a spokesman for that team upon retiring — even if he ended his career elsewhere. I doubt you’d see Joe Montana trying to convince players to go to the Kansas City Chiefs instead of the San Francisco 49ers. Perhaps this will push back that expected date of reconciliation a little bit more.
