With Aaron Rodgers finally making a decision on his football future by agreeing to join the Pittsburgh Steelers on a one-year contract, the Green Bay Packers are set to take on their former quarterback for the first time when they travel to southwest Pennsylvania for the Week 8 Sunday Night Football matchup on October 26.
And current Packers quarterback Jordan Love is absolutely thrilled about the opportunity to take on his predecessor. He's even hoping for a little gift exchange afterward.
“It’s going to be fun. It’s going to be awesome. I’m excited for it,” Love recently told Channel 3000's Jason Wilde. “I can’t wait to be on different sides, meeting up, and I know we’ll talk pre-game, things like that. And hopefully we can exchange jerseys after.”
Love, of course, shared a QB room with Rodgers for three seasons after the Packers made him the 26th overall pick of the 2020 draft, a move that seemingly threw Rodgers for a loop and ultimately led to the four-time NFL MVP being shipped to the New York Jets in 2023, with whom he spent two seasons.
But despite Rodgers' unceremonious exit from Green Bay, Love maintains that the two had a solid bond during their tenure together, unlike the rocky relationship Rodgers had when he sat behind Brett Favre for three seasons before taking the reins as the franchise's QB1 in 2008.
"I appreciate definitely the way A-Rod handled being in that situation, and I think a big part of it— which he told me—was he knew how it was for him being in that same position, and the things that he went through and the way the situation might’ve been handled [differently],” Love said. “I think his perspective was, ‘I’m trying to go about this a little bit differently,’ which I think was awesome.
“In my time with A-Rod, we had a great relationship. It was awesome being in the same room with him, being able to learn. He was amazing with everything. And I definitely appreciate the way he handled everything on the outside, with obviously him leaving and me taking over, and he’s been very supportive of me.
“It definitely helped with some of the negativity that might’ve come with that. But A-Rod handled it like a pro and did very right by me."
Love went on to say that because of the way Rodgers treated him, the Packers' matchup with the Steelers may not have the same kind of bad-blood feel that came along with Green Bay's battles with Favre when he was a member of the rival Minnesota Vikings in 2009 and 2010.
But that certainly doesn't mean Love doesn't want to win this football game.