Aaron Rodgers said Wednesday that it's time for the "healing process to begin" between the Green Bay Packers and Brett Favre, adding that he hopes the quarterback's No. 4 can be retired by the team before he is inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Rodgers, in a radio interview with "The Jim Rome Show," said he's "excited" about the prospect of Favre and the Packers reuniting in some way.
"It's been too long," Rodgers said. "You know, our country and the state of Wisconsin, these people are a people of second and third and fourth chances. I think it's time to let the healing process begin for those who are still upset for what went down."
The relationship between Favre and the Packers has been frayed since 2008, when the Packers traded Favre to the New York Jets after he came out of retirement, choosing to go with Rodgers as their quarterback. Favre signed with the Minnesota Vikings, the Packers' NFC North archrival, a season later, further weakening the bond between the star quarterback and the team.
Favre and Rodgers made a surprise joint appearance at the NFL Honors awards show earlier this year to present Peyton Manning his Comeback Player of the Year Award. Rodgers said the reunion between the two former teammates "felt great."
"I was totally OK with being out front of that, and I'm very secure of the things I've been able to accomplish with the team and individually here in Green Bay, and excited about the chance to see him again and get his number retired here before he goes into Canton," he said.
Packers president and CEO Mark Murphy said earlier this month during the team's Tailgate Tour that he wanted Favre "back involved in the organization soon" and expressed his desire to retire Favre's number at "the right time for him and us."
"I look forward to him being back in the fold, as Mark Murphy has said," Rodgers said Wednesday. "I think it's time for our fans, this organization and Brett to heal through this and to move forward together before he gets the greatest honor of being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame."