“Aaron Rodgers is a bada**” - Brian Urlacher gets real about facing 4X NFL MVP during fierce Bears vs. Packers clashes in 2000s

Former NFL linebacker Brian Urlacher faced Aaron Rodgers several times. The Chicago Bears picked him up in the 2000 NFL draft. Urlacher spent 13 seasons with the Bears before retiring in 2013. He had the opportunity to play both Brett Favre and Rodgers since the Bears and the Green Bay Packers are a part of the NFC North.

On Thursday, Brian Urlacher appeared on Episode 2 of Johnny Manziel's podcast, 'Glory Daze.' He spoke about going against Aaron Rodgers in the 2000s and shared his true feelings about the competition with the former Packer.

"Aaron Rodgers is a badass too," Urlacher said. "They're (Aaron and Brett Favre) just competitive guys, and they were fun to play against. Win or lose, whatever- they were fun to play with."

"There was great banter- not mean banter, but good banter back and forth. Just fun dudes to compete against." (TS-1:45)

The Packers drafted Aaron Rodgers in the 2005 NFL draft. He spent the first three seasons as a backup to Brett Favre. He took over the starting quarterback job after Favre was traded to the Jets in 2008.

During his 18-season stint with the Packers, Rodgers started 223 of the 230 games he played. The 4x NFL MVP tallied a total of 59,055 yards and 475 TDs passing. Urlacher faced Rodgers nine times before his retirement.

Rodgers joined the New York Jets ahead of the 2023 season. He had an underwhelming two-season stint before the team decided to part ways with the quarterback in February. The 4x NFL MVP is now gearing up as the starting quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers for the 2025 season.

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Aaron Rodgers earns high praise from veteran OC coach after Steelers minicamp

There is a lot of uncertainty about how Aaron Rodgers will perform with the Steelers this year. However, reports suggest that the team's coaching staff was content with his output during the Steelers' three-day mandatory minicamp.

According to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, one veteran OC coach had high praise for the quarterback.

"He's still throwing the s**t out of the ball," a veteran NFL offensive coach said. "He's the best quarterback they've had since Ben Roethlisberger. We will see how the body holds up, but I think he's going to help them immediately."

The Steelers also brought in ex-Ohio State quarterback Will Howard in the sixth round of this year's draft. He is expected to utilize his rookie campaign to learn the game from the presence of the 4x NFL MVP.