The Sunday night window has already featured one juicy reunion storyline involving the Packers: Green Bay’s Week 4 trip to Dallas, where recently acquired edge rusher Micah Parsons faced his former team for the first time.
That game ended in a 40-40 tie. LaFleur is aiming to ensure his team comes away with a victory this time around with the understanding Rodgers will own a key place in his team’s preparation and game plan, but also an expectation Rodgers won’t fuel an emotional element with his Packers.
“I don’t even know if many of these guys played with him,” LaFleur said. “There’s a few guys but I think that’s just — it’s for you guys.”
LaFleur is largely correct in his quick estimation of roster carryover from Rodgers’ last season (2022) to now. A quick scan of the roster reveals roughly a dozen players currently on the Packers who were members of the 2022 team, a squad that now represents Green Bay’s efforts to turn over the roster toward a younger future.
Jordan Love was seated behind Rodgers on the depth chart while wideouts Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson were rookies. The same was true for linebacker Quay Walker, and current other key Packers (Josh Myers, Elgton Jenkins, Rashan Gary, Isaiah McDuffie, Devonte Wyatt, Zach Tom, Sean Rhyan, Kingsley Enagbare) were still playing on rookie deals back in 2022.
If anything, their memories of Rodgers are likely associated with looming change and perhaps even a desire to turn the page toward a new era with Love. Those days are far behind them now.
Still, the pregame build-up will undoubtedly include recollections of Rodgers’ 18 years spent in Green Bay, including his final four playing under the direction of LaFleur. The coach will ignore the discussion and keep his focus on what matters most in 2025: winning the next game on the schedule.
“I’m gonna talk about how we — just like we do every week, what is our blueprint?” LaFleur said. “What are our keys in order to go to Pittsburgh, which is a damn good football team and a really tough, hostile environment, and try to play our best? Because we haven’t put our best yet to date, so we’ve got a lot of work to do.”