NFL insiders aren't buying what 'petty and spiteful' Aaron Rodgers said about Packers matchup

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers surprised some outsiders when he insisted on Wednesday that he didn't view this coming Sunday's home game versus the Green Bay Packers, his former club, as any kind of revenge spot.

During Thursday's edition of the ESPN "First Take" program, Mina Kimes and other NFL insiders explained why they're not buying what Rodgers tried to sell ahead of the Week 8 showdown.

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"Gimme a break," Kimes said, per Alex Kozora of Steelers Depot. "Aaron Rodgers, he's been this way his entire career. Lest we forget, the Packers drafted his successor while he was in his prime. He responded by putting up the best seasons of his career, those MVPs. This is just what fuels him."

Kimes was referencing how Rodgers earned regular-season MVP honors for the 2020 and 2021 campaigns after the Packers selected quarterback Jordan Love during the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft. While Rodgers later signed a massive extension with the Packers in March 2022, it became clear in early 2023 that he and the club were headed toward a divorce. 

Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst ultimately traded Rodgers to the New York Jets that spring, in part because Gutekunst reportedly "wanted an all-in Rodgers in March 2023 and knew he wouldn’t get it." 

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"It's one of the most petty and spiteful people that we've had coming through the NFL in two decades," former quarterback and current analyst Dan Orlovsky said about Rodgers during the show segment. "This guy holds grudges, and it's been one of the reasons why he had the career that he had."

Earlier this year, a new Jets regime led by general manager Darren Mougey and head coach Aaron Glenn informed Rodgers during a Feb. 6 meeting that lasted "less than 15 minutes" that the club was moving on from the future Hall of Famer. After Rodgers guided the Steelers to a Week 1 win over the AFC East club in September, he admitted that he was "happy to beat everybody associated with the Jets." 

"His entire career has been about revenge," former Steelers safety and current ESPN analyst Ryan Clark added about Rodgers. "His entire career has been lived in a permanent state of pettiness. And that's part of what makes him great."

For what it's worth, Rodgers publicly downplayed the obvious storyline related to the Week 1 Jets-Steelers clash before that game. In short, it could be interesting to see what he does and/or doesn't have to say if he leads 4-2 Pittsburgh to a "Sunday Night Football" win over 4-1-1 Green Bay this weekend.