Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers had a rather messy parting this past offseason, but it does not seem to have impacted the organization’s appreciation for the quarterback’s accomplishments.
Speaking Monday at a shareholder meeting at Lambeau Field, Packers president Mark Murphy had nothing but praise for Rodgers, calling him “one of the greatest players in the history of the Packers.” Murphy confirmed that the team intends to honor Rodgers and retire his No. 12 “at the appropriate time.”
Packers president Mark Murphy’s full comments at today’s shareholders meeting about Aaron Rodgers and the trade:
“We will bring him back and retire his number at the appropriate time.”
Met with some nice applause from the crowd. pic.twitter.com/voJ97FFo7c
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) July 24, 2023
In other words, the Packers will likely retire Rodgers’ number once he finishes his playing career. That is ultimately what they did with Brett Favre under similar circumstances, though that took until 2015.
There is no doubt that Rodgers deserves this kind of treatment from the Packers. He is a future Hall of Famer, he quarterbacked the team to a Super Bowl, and is one of the most accomplished players in the organization’s history. His would be the seventh number retired by the franchise, and few would argue that it is undeserved, even if his departure was fairly acrimonious. One would expect time to heal some of those wounds.
Rodgers, dealt to the New York Jets in the offseason, is first all-time in Packers history with 475 touchdown passes and second behind Favre with 59,055 passing yards.
