This offseason marked the end of an era for the Green Bay Packers. After 18 seasons with the team, the last 15 that have been spent as their starting quarterback, Aaron Rodgers has moved on.
The future Hall of Famer was traded to the New York Jets earlier this offseason, which will kick off the Jordan Love era in Green Bay. Packers president Mark Murphy addressed Rodgers during a team shareholders meeting at Lambeau Field on Monday.
One of the things that he said was that it was time for the team to move on from Rodgers and give the starting job to Love as he is ready to take over. He also provided some insight into their plans for retiring his jersey.
“We will bring him back and retire his number at the appropriate time, Murphy said. When that will be is anyone’s guess as Rodgers recently hinted at playing for another two or three years with the Jets. His jersey certainly won’t be retired by the Packers until his playing days are over.
Using Brett Favre as an example, he was traded to the Jets in 2008 and continued his playing career until 2010. His No. 4 was retired by the Packers in 2015, marking the first since Reggie White’s No. 92 was retired in 2005.
Rodgers’ No. 12 will be the seventh jersey that has been retired in the history of the Packers franchise. He will join Ray Nitschke, Bart Starr, Don Hudson, Tony Canadeo, Favre and White.
“He was one of the greatest players in the history of the Packers,” Murphy said. “I want to thank him for all he did during his remarkable 18-year career here. He’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer and we will bring him back to retire his number at the appropriate time.”
Those words were met with applause from many of the people who were in attendance at the meeting. It was something that Murphy was warmed by, saying it speaks volumes about the fans that the Packers have.
While things got contentious between Rodgers and the organization at times this offseason, retiring his No. 12 is something that felt inevitable. He is arguably the greatest player to ever don the Packers green and gold and he should live on forever within the franchise.