The Packers will eventually retire the number worn by Aaron Rodgers. They won’t be retiring his locker.
They won’t even be taking it out of service for a year or two.
As recently explained by Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com, the Rodgers locker has already been re-issued to rookie quarterback Sean Clifford.
“Obviously, I understand who was in here before and I respect everything about that,” Clifford told reporters. “At the same time, I came in and I found my name on the plate and I sat down. I’m doing whatever it takes to win games here. I’m very appreciative of the opportunity. Green Bay has a guy who’s going to come in and give them their all, and I can promise that. I’m just trying to create my own legacy now and continue just to get better.”
Of course, Clifford’s legacy currently takes a back seat to Jordan Love. While not the successor to the locker, Love is the heir to the throne.
“It’s a locker to me,” Clifford said, “and I’m just excited to be in the locker room with these guys. As long as you see your name, right? That’s all that matters for me — just being in the NFL and having this opportunity, one that I’ve dreamed about for so long, and to have it as a reality, that’s all that matters.”
Clifford, who spent six years at Penn State, is actually older than Love, by six months.
If things go the way the Packers want them to go, Clifford will never be anything more than second string. But if he develops well and/or if Love slips, Clifford might have a chance to disrupt the team’s preferred Rodgers-to-Love handoff.