Aaron Rodgers offers olive branch to Terry Bradshaw after legendary QB's harsh words
Terry Bradshaw did not get his wish.
When rumors swirled that Aaron Rodgers would join Bradshaw's Pittsburgh Steelers, Bradshaw called it a "joke."
"What are you gonna do? Bring him in for one year? Are you kidding me? ... That guy needs to stay in California. Go somewhere and chew on bark and whisper to the gods out there," Bradshaw said in May.
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After months of speculation, Rodgers signed a one-year deal with the Steelers, saying it would be his final season in the NFL.
Rodgers is now at his 21st training camp, 18 of which were with the Green Bay Packers and two with the New York Jets.
Inevitably, Rodgers was asked about Bradshaw, and he couldn't help but laugh some of it off.
"I whisper to the gods every single day," Rodgers joked, referring to what Bradshaw said months ago.
But Rodgers took the high road while also pleading with Bradshaw to ignore the negative headlines about Rodgers.
"I’ve known Terry for a long time, being a part of Fox. Terry’s a legend. He’s an absolute legend. He won four Super Bowls. He’s had a legendary career in the media," Rodgers told the NFL Network. "But Terry, like a lot of people, doesn’t know me.
"And, so, he’s got an idea of what he thinks about me based on what I’ve done, the documentary, what I’ve said, darkness retreat, whatever the hell you want to talk about. I’d love to get to know Terry on a deeper level. I feel like if he gave me a chance to get to know him, then we’d have a good friendship.
So, I’d love to get to know Terry on a deeper level if he’s open to it. And maybe we can go chew some bark or whatever the hell he’s talking about together."
Rodgers also said he has "nothing but the utmost amount of respect and deference" for what Bradshaw and other "greats have done."
"They laid the foundation for us to be able to play in this great game. To be paid like kings and to carry on the tradition of excellence that guys like the Bradshaws of the world in the ’70s and Bart Starr in the ’60s and [Vince] Lombardi and Joe Montana and Steve Young and Troy Aikman and Brett Favre and all the greats," he said.
"We’re standing on the backs of those guys. It’s because of how they played and how they carried themselves that we’re able to have this opportunity to still play this great game, to get paid really well, to set ourselves up for our future."
The Steelers kick off the regular season Sept. 7 against the Jets, Rodgers' previous team.
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