Aaron Rodgers is five years removed from his best days with the Green Bay Packers.One of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history also hasn’t been the same since he left the famous small-market team behind. The good old days for Aaron Rodgers with the PackersgettyRodgers misses good things about Green Bay “So many great people in Green Bay, in the entire organization, top to bottom,” Rodgers told reporters, as the Steelers prepared for a 2026 preseason opener vs the Packers on Thursday at Acrisure Stadium. “Just salt of the earth-type of people. But the thing that actually lasts the longest is those people that impact your life, and there’s been a lot of those, a lot especially in Green Bay, it had a huge impact on my life. So I think about those people a lot.”It’s harder than ever to remember when Rodgers was universally praised as the NFL’s best QB.He’s already announced a retirement tour with the Steelers, who will fight to make the playoffs in a loaded AFC North and aren’t viewed as legitimate Super Bowl contenders. 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Brett Favre, who forced Rodgers to watch and learn for three years in Green Bay, has recently been in the news more for a blistering anti-Favre Netflix documentary than anything that the Hall of Fame quarterback ever did on the football field.Favre admitted he was at ‘fault’Both of the ex-Packers greats haven’t been the same since they chose to leave Green Bay behind.“It’s over and done with. I was at fault,” said Favre, during a 2013 radio interview.Favre acknowledged that ‘both sides had a part in it,’ while discussing a messy divorce with the Packers that created years of Favre fatigue among fans and the media. But the fact that Favre said 13 years ago ‘I was at fault,’ was telling then and is even more of a revelation now.Rodgers and Brett Favre weren’t the same after leaving the Green Bay PackersgettyThe QB legends had to make amends with Packers fansGettyRodgers dealt with regular frustration as a New York JetGettyEven if the ‘Fall of Favre’ documentary is one-sided, it’s impossible to watch Jenn Sterger’s tale without wondering what in the heck happened to a gunslinger from Mississippi who once had the best backstory in the NFL.Meanwhile, the 42-year-old Rodgers followed up his return to Pittsburgh with an unexpected announcement that the 2026 campaign will be his final NFL season. Before Week 1 kicks off, the Steelers already know they’ll be shadowed all year by a glaring Rodgers spotlight.Rodgers was on top of NFL with Packers Rodgers won four NFL MVPs and threw 475 touchdowns with the best small-market franchise in the NFL.Then he believed he was too good to be held back by Green Bay, and his career hasn’t been the same since.After failing as the New York Jets‘ franchise QB and producing an overall 6-12 record in two seasons, Rodgers took his talents to Pittsburgh.Different worldsNot the same after leaving Green Bay Aaron Rodgers with Packers: 18 seasons, 59,055 yards, 475 TDs, 147-75-1 recordRodgers with Jets and Steelers: 3 seasons, 7,219 yards, 52 TDs, 16-18 recordBrett Favre with Packers: 16 seasons, 61,655 yards, 442 TDs, 160-93 recordFavre with Jets and Vikings: 3 seasons, 10,183 yards, 66 TDs, 26-19 recordBut the future Hall of Famer acknowledged last year that he plans to retire as Packer once he plays his final NFL snap.“I was there for 18 years,” Rodgers said.“Regardless of when I hang it up, that’s the bulk of my career. I’ll retire a Packer and see what happens after that. I’ve got a lot of love for the organization (and) my time there. Irony in Rodgers coached by McCarthy again There’s also serious irony in Rodgers now being coached by Mike McCarthy, after Mike Tomlin finally parted ways with the Steelers.Rodgers’ time with Green Bay ended badly.He confronted McCarthy for throwing a bad challenge flag, questioned why Randall Cobb was playing on special teams after suffering an ankle injury, and said the Packers’ offense was ‘terrible.’“The 2018 season has not lived up to the expectations and standards of the Green Bay Packers. As a result, I made the difficult decision to relieve Mike McCarthy of his role as head coach, effective immediately,” Packers president Mark Murphy said in a statement, during the same season that Rodgers said that Green Bay’s offense stunk.The above just hints at the tension that shadowed Rodgers during his final years with the Packers, and there’s a reason that he left one of the NFL’s most famous franchises when he was traded to the New York Jets in April 2023 — Rogers wanted out of Green Bay.Rodgers will always be associated with the Packers more than the Jets and SteelersGettyFavre threw 508 TDS, won three MVPs and made 11 Pro Bowls, but would still love to be a perfect Packer in 2026.That’s impossible, now that he’s more associated with a Mississippi welfare scandal and in the middle of an eerie Netflix doc.Rodgers overcame a perplexing draft-day slide and years of sitting behind Favre to become a Packers icon.Rodgers and Favre could be reunited again in the Hall of Fame in six years — because they once were proud Packers and loved by loyal Green Bay fans.