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Throughout the history of the NFL, teams feuding with their starting quarterbacks hasn't been such a rare occurrence.
We've seen it recently with the Browns starting QB Baker Mayfield being denied a trade, despite his requests, and even further back with Green Bay Packers superstar Aaron Rodgers seeing his team spend their 2020 first-round draft pick on quarterback Jordan Love, instead of helping Rodgers.
There have been dozens of examples of teams coming to blows with their signal caller, and we are here to run down five of the most infamous examples of recent times.
5 times NFL franchises jeopardized their relationship with their starting quarterback ft Baker Mayfield and Aaron Rodgers
#5 - Tom Brady (New England Patriots)
Tom Brady is undoubtedly the best quarterback and the best player in the history of the NFL, but that didn't stop the New England Patriots from risking their relationship with the GOAT in 2014.
In that year's draft, the Patriots took quarterback Jimmy Garrappolo in the second-round, and head coach Bill Belichick said:
“We know what Tom’s age and contract situation is.”
This didn't go down well with Brady who was quoted as saying:
“Now we drafted Jimmy higher. You know, Coach Belichick referenced my age to me, referenced it to the media. And in my mind, I was thinking, what are you … talking about?"
In Belichick's defense, Brady had just come off one of his worst statistical seasons to date in 2013, passing for just 25 touchdowns to 11 interceptions, but the Patriots still made it to the AFC Championship game.
Brady was reported to have forced the Jimmy G trade to the San Francisco 49ers in 2017 following a rift between Brady, Belichick and Pats owner Robert Kraft.
#4 - Kyler Murray (Arizona Cardinals)
Kyler Murray and his team, the Arizona Cardinals, got into a spat this offseason, and it remains to be seen whether this will have a detrimental effect on the pair's relationship going forward.
Drama was stirring when Murray, a former number one overall pick, deleted all but two photos on his Instagram account, leaving only a photo of his time at Oklahoma and one of himself with Dallas Cowboys receiver Ceedee Lamb at the 2021 Pro Bowl.
There were rumors that this was done as a way for Murray to demand a contract extension following his third season in the NFL, and a statement released by his agent Erik Burkhardt said:
“Actions speak much louder than words in this volatile business."
Murray has since reposted all his missing photos to his Instagram, but there's still no news on a contract extension.
5 times NFL franchises jeopardized their relationships with their starting quarterbacks ft Baker Mayfield and Aaron Rodgers
#3 - Baker Mayfield (Cleveland Browns)
At the heart of the latest quarterback drama in the NFL is Cleveland Browns QB Baker Mayfield. Mayfield requested a trade out of Cleveland on Thursday, which was swiftly rejected by the team.
However, since then, they've traded for Deshaun Watson, giving up three first-round picks, one third and one fourth-rounder to the Houston Texans in return for Watson. Watson has signed a five-year $230 million contract, and the Browns also signed free agent Jacoby Brissett to back him up.
This must surely spell the end of the Browns' and Baker's love affair, which began when they took him first overall in the 2018 NFL draft and continued as he led the team to the AFC Divisional round in the 2021 season.
It does make you wonder why the Browns denied Mayfield's trade request, unless they were just waiting for confirmation of the Watson trade to go through before allowing him to walk.
#2 - Tua Tagovailoa (Miami Dolphins)
After starting his rookie year behind veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick on the depth chart, Tua Tagovailoa was given his chance to start in just the Miami Dolphins' seventh game of the year. There were multiple reports that people within the Dolphins organization didn't have faith in Tua, and according to Miami Herald columnist Armondo Salguero, some of his own teammates were unhappy with the switch at quarterback.
"One defensive player said he isn't impressed with Tagovailoa's ball velocity or arm strength or ability to make off-schedule plays with his legs," Salguero wrote. "So he ultimately questions whether Tagovailoa will ever be able to match the feats of other quarterbacks in the AFC, such as Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes or Deshaun Watson."
Despite the leaks from within the organization, Tua bounced back, leading the Dolphins to a 10-6 record in 2020, just missing out on the playoffs and improving his personal stats in 2021, passing for 16 touchdowns and a 90.1 passer rating.
#1 - Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers)
Finally, we have polarizing Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who has had a fractured relationship with his employers for quite some time.
Going into the 2020 NFL draft, a lot of mocks had the Packers taking a receiver in round one to go opposite superstar Davante Adams and provide Rodgers with some much-needed help. However, they decided to draft quarterback Jordan Love out of Utah State with their first pick, leaving the NFL world rather perplexed.
Rodgers said of the pick:
"General reaction at first was surprise, like many people. Not going to say I was thrilled by the pick."
This was a fair comment, as Rodgers had just led the Packers all the way to the NFC Championship game after a 13-3 season.
Rodgers has just resigned with the Packers on a three-year $150 million deal, but almost immediately after the contract was signed, star wideout, and Rodgers' go-to target Davante Adams was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders for a first-round 2022 draft pick.
You could argue this is the nature of the business of the NFL, with Adams refusing to play on the franchise tag in consecutive years, but Rodgers will have been banging the table for the Packers to get a deal done. And if your quarterback, who's won the last two NFL MVP awards wants something, you should do everything in your power to get it for him!
Poll : Where will Baker Mayfield sign?
Indianapolis Colts
Carolina Panthers
63 votes
