It was a surprise Aaron Rodgers never saw coming. High off of a 13-3 record, an NFC North win and the signal caller finishing with 4,442 yards, 25 TDs and an impressive two interceptions, 2020 was supposed to be about going back to the gridiron and getting more under his belt. However, come Draft night, the Green Bay Packers were ready with a move leaving the room silent. Jordan Love was inducted into the team’s roster—a move the front office pulled off after acquiring the 26th overall pick in exchange for the Nos. 30 and 136 selections. Heads-up: Rodgers was not happy.

Diving into the same on the April 22 episode of The Dan Patrick Show, head coach Matt LaFleur began, “I think the controversy of that whole deal was that we traded up to go get Jordan. If we would have stayed there, picked him, I think it would have been less…Obviously, it still would have been a big story, but I think the fact that we went up to go get him….But I do think, obviously, it was the right decision.” This compelled the host to ask, “You [had] to place that call to Aaron…How was that?”

“Interesting,” LaFleur said, before adding, “I think he was shocked. (smiling)” Hilariously, Patrick even played out the moment to give fans a first-hand look into how exactly things might have gone.

Patrick: “I’ll play Aaron and you call me okay?…(imitating a phone by bringing his fist to his ear)…Hey coach, what happened?” To which, LaFleur smirked and added, “I don’t think that was the words that were used.” Patrick laughed and asked, “So ‘What the bleep just happened?’” LaFleur nodded: “There was more of that, yeah…I will say, I mean whether that was why or what not, but he did go out and had two pretty damn good years back-to-back.” Seems like new competition in the building did acted as motivation for the veteran QB.

In 2020 and 2021, Aaron Rodgers had the highest passer rating (121.5 in 2020 and 111.9 in 2021), with a career-high 48 touchdowns in 2020, and 37 the next season, with a total of 9 INT across both years. He even won 81% of his games in that same timespan, and earned an NFL MVP honor both years.

What’s more noteworthy is despite supposed ego and friction, Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love often shared a close relationship. They stayed together, helping each other for three seasons, before A-Rod’s exit.

Earlier this month, Love said, “I would love to get the opportunity to play against A-Rod. Having a guy that mentored me in the league was someone I gotta be a backup behind, to be able to get the opportunity to play against him, and be on the other side of him, it would be special, it would be cool.” He wished that Rodgers gets his new home soon, as the 41-year-old QB’s future is hanging on a thin thread.

Aaron Rodgers is betrayed once again?

Although Packers fans and even Matt LaFleur might not call it betrayal, drafting Jordan Love was a real shock to Aaron Rodgers. Still, when the New York Jets came knocking, showing him the respect he felt he’d lost, Rodgers jumped at the chance and signed on. But after a disappointing 2024 season, things took a turn, and that same respect supposedly took a nose dive.

Rodgers was cut from the Jets. And the way it happened? Brutal. Aaron Glenn and GM Darren Mougey didn’t even bother with a proper meeting. As per the QB’s own confession on the Pat McAfee show earlier this month, “I figured that when I flew across country on my own dime, that there was going to be a conversation. And the confusing thing to me—and the strange thing—was when I went out there, I meet with the coach, we start talking, he runs out of the room. I’m like, ‘That’s kind of strange.’

“Then he comes back with the GM and I’m like, ‘All right.’ So, we sit down in the office, and I think we’re going to have this long conversation. I’ve flown across the country and, 20 seconds in, he goes … ‘So, do you want to play football?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m interested.’ And he said, ‘We’re going in a different direction at quarterback.'”

Even his former teammate James Jones called it out. He didn’t sugarcoat a thing by saying, “I don’t care about him spending his money. My dawg got a lot of money. He could buy a Southwest ticket, (or) private jet, whatever… But to get there for the meeting and you to disrespect this man like that is crazy to me.”

Well, Rodgers didn’t mind if they wanted to move on. But making him fly all that way, just to get dismissed? That didn’t sit right. As he put it, “You could have told me this on the phone if we weren’t even going to have a conversation.” And now? He hasn’t said what’s next–whether he’s done with football or still got another run left in him!