It was April 2005. Brett Favre had been the Packers' starting quarterback for 13 seasons — none of them below .500, 10 of them resulting in playoff berths including the last four, and one of them ending with a Super Bowl title.
Favre was about to enter his age 36 season. Aaron Rodgers slid down to Green Bay's slot in the first round of the draft at No. 24. And the Packers grabbed him, setting the course for an often successful but also complicated next 15 seasons.
"I'm hopeful that Brett continues to play and play for a long time and this guy develops into one of the best backups in the league behind Brett Favre and then when Brett does decide that it's time, whenever that is, hopefully way down the road, he'll be ready to go," Packers head coach Mike Sherman said at the time.
That's what happened. Sort of.
Favre flirted with retirement often but played three more seasons in Green Bay — the last of which, in 2007, ended with an overtime loss in the NFC title game. The Packers decided to make the switch to Rodgers after that season. An ugly breakup ensued, sending Favre to the Jets and ultimately the Vikings.
Favre had one of the best years of his career in 2009 with the Vikings, of course, bringing them to the brink of a Super Bowl appearance during the year in which he turned 40.
Rodgers led the Packers to another Super Bowl after the 2010 season and has a 113-60-1 record as a starter.
Now Rodgers is 36. Is it time for the Packers to start thinking about their future QB again? It's not out of the question, and Rodgers was asked about it during a radio appearance Friday.
How would he feel about that?
"I'm a realist," Rodgers said, per ESPN's Rob Demovsky. "I know where we're at as an organization and I know where I'm at my career."
OK, that's a little bland. Can we try again?
"No matter who you bring in, they're not going to be able to beat me out any time soon," Rodgers also said.
Ah, that's better — and, let's face it, realistic. Some of Rodgers' advanced numbers have tailed off in the past two seasons — 2019 is the most relevant since it came in the new system under Matt LaFleur — but he's still thrown for 51 touchdowns against just six interceptions in those two seasons. Last year Rodgers took the Packers to a 13-3 record and the NFC title game.
But let's play this out a little longer. Let's say the Packers do draft their future starting quarterback this season. And let's say Rodgers does remain the starter in Green Bay for three more seasons, just like Favre.
Rodgers would turn 40 during the 2023 season — the same year the Packers could cut him with little penalty. Well then we could have history repeat itself all over again between the two border rivals.
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Minnesota United looks like it's the real deal. One year after making its first Major League Soccer playoff appearance, the Loons have eight goals in two impressive road matches to start the season. They look like they will score in a lot of ways. Don't sleep on United as the team that could break Minnesota's major men's pro sports championship drought.
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The Timberwolves need to figure out their defense in the offseason — particularly the interior. Entering Sunday, the Wolves were giving up 59.3 points in the paint in the 12 games since the trade deadline. That is five more points allowed than any other team in the NBA in that span. They gave up a whopping 66 in Sunday's 120-107 loss to the Pelicans.
