Despite his four MVP awards and 10 Pro Bowl selections, many experts argue that Aaron Rodgers has not yet secured a place in the greatest quarterback conversations. Their main contention is his limited success in the Super Bowl because it overshadows his achievements as a football player. Former NFL quarterback Kurt Warner echoed this sentiment on Tuesday, asserting that Rodgers must win at least one more Super Bowl to be considered among the greatest.
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While speaking on Jomboy Media’s Football Today show with Chris Rose, Warner emphasized that the 2024 season presents a perfect opportunity for Rodgers to prove the critics wrong. Additionally, leading the Jets, a team that hasn’t won a Super Bowl since the moon landing, adds to the pressure on Rodgers.
Former NFL wide receiver James Jones, who played alongside Rodgers and won a Super Bowl with him, agrees with Warner’s take. While he acknowledges his bias about putting Rodgers in the GOAT conversation today since he played alongside him for seven years, Jones also understands why the world wants to see another Lombardi from his former teammate, now in the Big Apple.
He believes that if Rodgers were to win another Super Bowl, he would be placed among the legends like Peyton Manning and Joe Montana.
“I agree with Kurt Warner. He needs another Super Bowl to put him in the Peyton Mannings, to put him in the Joe Montanas, to put in the Patrick Mahomes, to put him in the elite and greatest quarterback of all time conversation,” Jones stated on the SPEAK’s Thursday night episode.
The rationale behind Warner and Jones’s stance is that all quarterbacks considered the greatest have won at least two Super Bowls. But Rodgers’ lone Super Bowl victory in 2011 with the Green Bay Packers highlights his limited success as a team player in the NFL.
Despite that setback, NFL analyst Emmanuel Acho supports Rodgers’ inclusion in the GOAT conversation by citing a major reason that many fans might agree with this year.
Emmanuel Acho Throws Support Behind Aaron Rodgers
Downplaying Rodgers’ lack of Super Bowl wins, Acho argues that his impressive track record in the NFL guarantees his place among the greatest quarterbacks. He played down the importance of the Super Bowl, asserting that Rodgers, even at 40, deserves recognition as an athlete he has proven on the field.
“He is in the GOAT conversation,” Acho asserted. “Aaron Rodgers isn’t in the GOAT conversation because he is a winner. He is in the GOAT conversation because of how talented he is. I believe Aaron Rodgers is the most talented quarterback thrower of the football I have ever seen.”
Acho even included Dan Marino in the GOAT conversation, who, in his 17-year-long stint with the Dolphins, couldn’t secure a Super Bowl ring. The sportscaster, however, believes that Rodgers has an edge over Marino, as the latter cannot throw the ball as accurately on the move as the former.
Moreover, Acho brought up John Elway and even Patrick Mahomes, both of whom have a combined total of five Super Bowl wins. But in Acho’s eyes, they do not reach Rodgers’s level, as he considers Rodgers to be a better thrower than Patrick and a more precise passer on the move than Elway.
Nevertheless, as Rodgers gears up for the 2024-25 season, the pressure is indeed mounting. But a Super Bowl win this season would undoubtedly silence the critics. It could bolster his status as one of the greatest quarterbacks ever in the NFL.
