Aaron Rodgers made an appearance on Tuesday’s episode of The Pat McAfee Show. He discussed some of the challenges faced by rookie QBs in their first few years in the NFL especially if they are thrust into the starting role.

Referring to Bryce Young, and how the Carolina Panthers benched him in favor of Andy Dalton, the 4x NFL MVP said that Young needs to be given more time to fully develop as a starting QB.

“Think if Peyton Manning had been playing in 2024, his rookie year, think about the overreactions that would have happened with that. I think you gotta give a guy like Bryce Young some time whether it’s in that system or another system.
“It takes time and you get to place this mantle on you to be this savior for a team. It’s usually not very good at their pick and it’s usually not one player away.”
Legendary QB Peyton Manning had a terrible start in his rookie year with a 3-13 record and 28 interceptions, the most by a rookie in NFL history. However, he turned it around the very next year and the Indianapolis Colts went 13-3 that season.

The Panthers had been suffering from QB woes for some time before they made an expensive trade with the Chicago Bears to acquire the first overall pick in the NFL Draft 2023, which they used to get Young.

However, Young struggled as the Panthers landed in the bottom of the league that season. After giving him a chance early this season, they decided to pull the plug on him.

Aaron Rodgers also suggested how the Panthers could get out of this situation:

“Most of us, need to take some time, and whether we have the time to do that as a backup, that’s the best way. You have to have an owner who’s patient and trusts the process. And you have to have a team that continues to build and get better and not crush your confidence, as some of those guys dealt with early in their careers.”
Aaron Rodgers himself was a backup to Green Bay Packers great Brett Favre, which helped him ease into the transition from college to pro football.

Aaron Rodgers clears the air about discord with Robert Saleh
With rumors flying about things not being right between the Jets QB and head coach Robert Saleh, Rodgers finally addressed those rumors.

“Rob and I have a great relationship. We have since day one, when I got here. You know, we have, you know, text message conversations, threads that were in conversations about a number of different topics outside of football, had a good friendship.”
Aaron Rodgers said that he doesn’t pay attention to what the outside world is saying about him and carries a “F**k it! I don’t care” attitude towards them.

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Edited by Brad Taningco