Green Bay Packers

Aaron Rodgers said Monday that his admiration for his former teammate, wideout Davante Adams, has only grown since his trade to the Las Vegas Raiders this offseason.

"Him and I have stayed really close, and still talk all the time," Rodgers told Serge Ibaka on How Hungry Are You? (9:40 mark). "People think, 'Oh, you must not like Davante, he's on another team.' And I'm like, 'I love him even more!' Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and I have an even deeper love and appreciation for him now that he's gone."

In March, the Packers traded Adams to the Raiders for the Nos. 22 and 53 picks in the 2022 NFL draft. Adams promptly signed a five-year, $140 million contract extension with Las Vegas.

Rodgers told Ibaka that he thought his own uncertain future in Green Bay may have played a role in Adams' decision to seek a trade.

"A lot of it was his desire to have a new start, a fresh start," he said. "There was an unknown with my future and how long I was going to be here. And I think he loved playing with me and maybe didn't want to necessarily get locked into a long-term deal here if I wasn't going to be in the long-term plans of the team. Or, in my own mind. But I think ultimately, it was just time. Time for a new challenge for him, new opportunity."

Adams, 29, has fared quite well in his new digs, catching 86 passes for 1,275 yards and 12 touchdowns. The adjustment from Rodgers to Derek Carr hasn't slowed him down.

Rodgers, on the other hand, has had one of his poorer seasons in recent memory, throwing for 2,864 yards, 22 touchdowns and nine interceptions while completing just 64.3 percent of his passes.

There's little doubt that the loss of Adams, and a mediocre receiving corps in general, has played a part in the two-time defending MVP's down season. A broken thumb on his throwing hand, which has been an issue since Week 5, has undoubtedly played a part as well.

Offenses don't get better after losing a player of Adams' caliber. But Rodgers seemed genuinely happy to see his former teammate having success in Las Vegas.

During an appearance on Serge Ibaka's show How Hungry Are You?, Aaron Rodgers revealed his list of the top five quarterbacks of all time.

The Green Bay Packers star initially said he would not include himself, but Ibaka convinced him to do so. Rodgers then named the other four: Hall of Famers Joe Montana, Steve Young, Brett Favre and Tampa Bay Buccaneers signal-caller Tom Brady.

Rodgers also revealed he would pick Brady as the greatest ever because of his seven championship rings.

"I mean I think, greatest quarterback? I think you gotta go by championships, probably. So that'd be Tom," he said.

Despite his initial refusal to put himself in the top five, Rodgers also told Ibaka he considers himself to be the best Packers quarterback of all time above Favre. It's clear that the four-time NFL MVP knows where he stands among the greats in league history.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers recently appeared on the How Hungry Are You? show hosted by Milwaukee Bucks forward Serge Ibaka to answer some hard-hitting questions.

When asked what team he would've wanted to play for if he didn't return to the Packers for the 2022 season, Rodgers initially said the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL. When pressed further, he jokingly answered, "the Oakland Raiders." Rodgers is obviously aware that the franchise no longer resides in the Bay Area, so it seems he was having some fun with Ibaka.

While Rodgers may have been facetious in his answer, naming the Raiders is an interesting choice considering his favorite wide receiver Davante Adams was traded to the team this past offseason. The five-time All-Pro has thrived in Las Vegas, tying for first in the NFL with 12 receiving touchdowns to go with team-highs of 86 receptions and 1,275 receiving yards.

In Adams' absence, Rodgers has not been as dominant as he was in recent years. The back-to-back reigning NFL MVP has struggled to develop chemistry with an unproven crop of receivers, many of whom are rookies. Veteran Sammy Watkins, who signed with Green Bay as a free agent, was released on Monday after failing to make an impact.

Rodgers has thrown nine interceptions so far this season after throwing a total of nine picks in 2020 and 2021 combined. In 13 games, he's racked up 2,864 yards and 22 touchdowns while completing 64.3 percent of his passes.

The Packers are 5-8 entering Monday night's game against the 4-9 Los Angeles Rams. While Green Bay has a slim chance of making the postseason this year, Rodgers has indicated that he doesn't want to take the last weeks of the 2022 season off. However, if the Packers are eliminated from playoff contention, it could open the door for third-year quarterback Jordan Love to get a chance to start.

Aaron Rodgers appeared on Serge Ibaka's show How Hungry Are You? and was asked who the best quarterback was in Green Bay Packers history, himself or Brett Favre.

Rodgers initially said Bart Starr but was pressed by Ibaka to answer the original question. After thinking it over, Rodgers said, "Me. Who's not going to say yourself?" (3:00 mark)

From a statistical perspective, it's certainly up for debate.

Favre's 61,655 passing yards with the Packers are the most in franchise history. Rodgers is No. 2, with 58,224. Meanwhile, Rodgers is the franchise leader in touchdown passes (471), with Favre in second (442). Rodgers also has a superior completion percentage (65.3 percent) compared to Favre (61.4 percent).

They are equal in Super Bowl wins, with one apiece. Favre has more regular-season wins as a Packer (160) than Rodgers (144), but the latter has a higher winning percentage (66.0 percent to 62.3 percent). Favre also has 12 playoff wins, compared to Rodgers' 11.

Rodgers has the slightest of edges in the accolades department, however, as a four-time MVP, 10-time Pro Bowler and four-time first-team All-Pro selection. Favre was a three-time MVP, 11-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro selection.

Favre is a current Hall of Famer. Rodgers will be a first-ballot selection upon his retirement.

Rodgers has spent 18 seasons in Green Bay, though the first three were as Favre's backup. Favre was a Packer for 16 seasons before stints with the New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings.

The answer, for some, may come down to play style. Favre was exciting as a gunslinger, but he was also loose with the ball, throwing for the most interceptions (286) in Packers history by an enormous margin (Lynn Dickey is second, with 151).

Rodgers doesn't have the same swashbuckling aura about his play, but he rarely beats himself, with only 102 career picks and just two seasons with double-digit interception totals. His nine interceptions this season are equivalent to his totals from the 2020 and 2021 seasons combined and the most he's thrown since 2010.

So it comes down to a matter of opinion. It's tough to blame Rodgers for choosing himself.

The Green Bay Packers face the Los Angeles Rams on Monday, but they reportedly made a move ahead of the contest at Lambeau Field.

According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the NFC North team released wide receiver Sammy Watkins. The Clemson product will go on waivers as a result.

Green Bay signed Watkins to a one-year deal this offseason as it overhauled the wide receiver position.

Its most notable move was trading Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders, but it also lost Marquez Valdes-Scantling to free agency and drafted Christian Watson in the second round. Watson has emerged in the second half of the season with eight total touchdowns in his last four games.

As for Watkins, he went on injured reserve in September with a hamstring setback and has not been much of a factor all year.

He has just 13 catches for 206 yards and zero touchdowns in nine games, and the Week 2 win over the Chicago Bears before his injury was the only time he went over 47 yards in a single game.

The lack of production comes after the 29-year-old posted career-low numbers across the board in 2021 for the Baltimore Ravens with 27 catches for 394 yards and one touchdown.

Perhaps another team will take a chance on Watkins considering there was a time when he was a dangerous offensive weapon. His best individual season came in 2015 when he tallied 60 catches for 1,047 yards and nine touchdowns as a member of the Buffalo Bills.

Yet he hasn't been able to replicate those totals in subsequent stops on the Los Angeles Rams, Kansas City Chiefs, Ravens and Packers and heads to waivers as the 2022 season approaches the final push ahead of the playoffs.

During an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show this week, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers gave some more insight into how the use of ayahuasca has helped him.

When asked by former Packers teammate A.J. Hawk if he feared death, Rodgers admitted that he used to until ayahuasca aided in him getting over that fear:

Rodgers said that being a teenager during the Y2K hysteria of 1999 and 2000 contributed to his fear of dying due to the belief that he would never be able to accomplish all of his goals if he died young.

He continued by saying that consuming the psychoactive drink ayahuasca and the psychedelic drug psilocybin changed his perspective and "relieved a lot of the stress" associated with the need to accomplish things before death.

Rodgers also said he has "seen the other side" through the use of ayahuasca, which has caused him to view death as more of a "next chapter" than an ending.

Prior to the start of the 2022 NFL season, Rodgers revealed that he first used ayahuasca in 2020, which preceded back-to-back NFL MVP campaigns for the future Hall of Famer.

This season has been a much bigger struggle for Rodgers and the Packers, though, as they are 5-8 and have struggled to find consistency on offense compared to previous years.

Much of that likely has to do with the departure of Rodgers' No. 1 target, wide receiver Davante Adams, who was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders during the offseason.

Rodgers and the Packers are coming off a win over the Chicago Bears, though, and given how weak the NFC is, their playoff hopes are still alive.

The NFL announced the eight finalists for the Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award on Thursday, and a trio of running backs lead the way.

Aaron Jones of the Green Bay Packers, Nick Chubb of the Cleveland Browns and Dalvin Cook of the Minnesota Vikings were among the players nominated for the award:

The Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award was introduced in 2014 and named after late Pittsburgh Steelers founding owner Art Rooney Sr. Per Packers reporter Wes Hodkiewicz, the award "recognizes players who best demonstrate the qualities of on-field sportsmanship, including fair play, respect for the game and opponents and integrity in competition."

The eight finalists were selected from 32 nominees by a panel of former players made up of Warrick Dunn, Curtis Martin, Leonard Wheeler and Larry Fitzgerald, who chose four finalists from each of the AFC and NFC.

The finalists will be included on the Pro Bowl ballot under the NFL Sportsmanship Award category when NFL players can begin voting later this month. Each team will submit a consensus vote for one of the finalists, and a team cannot vote for its own player.

Fitzgerald was the first honoree to receive the award. Last season's winner was New England Patriots special teamer Matthew Slater.

This year's selection will be announced as part of the NFL Honors show on Feb. 9 prior to Super Bowl LVII. The winner will get to make a $25,000 donation via the NFL Foundation to the charity of his choosing.