With the Green Bay Packers, Aaron Rodgers built a phenomenal career worthy of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. His two years with the New York Jets were more underwhelming. Rodgers suffered a brutal injury his first year there, and his second year was a mess, too. However, with the Pittsburgh Steelers this season, he’ll have a chance to play both of his former teams.
“With the Green Bay Packers, I don’t know if there’s a lot of revenge there,” CBS Sports analyst Tyler Sullivan said recently on CBS Sports HQ. “I think that they drafted Jordan Love, they wanted to move on, they sent him to the place he wanted to go in the New York Jets.
“With the New York Jets, it does feel like there’s a little bit of bad blood, especially with this new head coaching staff in Aaron Glenn. Overall, I think there’s a little more venom here right out of the gate in Week 1.”
Rodgers’ Jets tenure ended ugly. It seemed inevitable that New York was going to move on from him, but Rodgers didn’t appreciate the fashion in which the organization did it. As he explained earlier this year, he flew to New York to meet with the Jets’ new top brass and was quickly dismissed. That seems to have left a foul taste in Rodgers’ mouth.
Recently, Glenn made more comments that seemed to throw shade at Rodgers, which might fuel the fire brewing between the two sides. Week 1 is still months away, but fans can bet that Rodgers will want to prove a point early in his Steelers tenure.
However, he isn’t the only quarterback with something to prove in the Week 1 game. Justin Fields is slated to be the Jets’ starting quarterback. Last year, he was with the Steelers, and they benched him for Russell Wilson. Through six games, Fields had the Steelers sitting at 4-2. Therefore, it was confusing to see him get benched. While Fields handled that situation like a pro, he still might have something to prove.
Something will have to give in Week 1. Rodgers wants to prove that the Jets made a mistake. Glenn wants to start his head coaching tenure on the right foot. Both have a lot to prove, which should add some fireworks to Week 1.
