3 Former NFL teammate duos who became rivals after switching teams ft Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre
Many NFL players form close relationships with their teammates. They battle together on the football field and often form friendships off the field. Forming chemistry between teammates can benefit performances in games as it usually strengthens the team as a whole.
While many NFL teammates have strong friendships, others will sometimes form rivalries. Friction can start between NFL players while they are on the same team, which can later become a traditional rivalry when they switch teams.
Here are three such examples:
#1 - Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens
Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens formed a dominant duo for two years with the Philadelphia Eagles. During the 2004 NFL season, they won the NFC Championship and appeared in the Super Bowl. Owens was excellent in that game, recording nine catches for 122 yards. However, McNabb's three interceptions were part of the reason the New England Patriots won the game.
I only left because the QB didn’t want me there because the QB felt he could win without me. So I had to move on. Trust me, I loved what I was doing in Philly with that team but I can’t make the QB like me. 🤷🏾♂️ twitter.com/jberrrrr/statu…
Owens later joined the Dallas Cowboys, the Eagles' biggest rivals. Ever since, he has been vocal about his dissatisfaction with McNabb as his quarterback in Philadelphia. Owens has blamed McNabb for the Super Bowl defeat and also claimed that McNabb wanted to get rid of him.
He also named McNabb as the player he'd most like to fight. On the matter, he said:
"I'd knock Chunky soup from Donovan McNabb in a fight."
#2 - Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre
Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers formed one of the most notorious quarterback controversies in NFL history. Favre publicly admitted his frustrations when the Green Bay Packers drafted Rodgers to eventually replace him. He even went as far as to announce that it was not his job to mentor him:
"My contract doesn't say I have to get Aaron Rodgers ready to play. Now, hopefully, he watches me and gets something from that."
Favre eventually announced his retirement and the Packers handed the job over to Rodgers. Favre changed his mind and wanted to return to the Packers, but they stuck with Rodgers moving forward. Favre spent one NFL season with the New York Jets before joining the Minnesota Vikings, a division rival of the Packers, to directly compete against Rodgers.
#3 - Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown
Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown formed one of the best NFL tandems of their generation during their run with the Pittsburgh Steelers. While they dominated opposing teams on the football field, there was apparently plenty of beef between them. It eventually went public, and both called each other out to the media and got into arguments on the sidelines.
Roethlisberger said that he regretted calling Brown out after a match. Brown posted the following tweet, which he deleted:
@Michele_Tafoya Antonio Brown deleted this tweet. https://t.co/fyo1RTcXEr
Brown eventually forced his way out of Pittsburgh and has never been the same player since. While he failed to regain the statistical dominance that he consistently recorded with the Steelers, he continued to publicly criticize Roethlisberger. Brown has caused issues with just about every team he's been with, so there's a possibility he was the problem all along.
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