Favre lauds Rodgers for carrying Packers, thinks he can play til 40

Aaron Rodgers gained a vote of confidence from a previous mentor Wednesday.

Brett Favre, who started for the Green Bay Packers during Rodgers' first three seasons, lauded the quarterback for carrying the franchise over the past decade, culminating in a Super Bowl victory in 2010.

"Obviously, Aaron has carried the team for a long time; that's not going to change," Favre said via ESPN's Rob Demovsky. "That in itself is not enough - at least it hasn't been, and it's been pretty good. As good as he is, I would've thought they would've won more than one by now. But I don't know if he can do anything else other than what he's done up to this point. It always seems like one piece of the puzzle is missing."

Rodgers earned his sixth Pro Bowl nomination last year, is considered by some to be the NFL's best quarterback, and is routinely in the conversation for MVP. The two-time MVP turns 34 in December and Favre postulated that Rodgers could play until he's at least 40.

"Why stop at 40?" Favre said.

"He moves around as well as anyone in the game right now. That's big. The less you're hit, Tom Brady's a different player, but they protect him well enough. He's not going to scramble for much, but I see no decline in Tom other than he's getting older but he doesn't look like that. And I think Aaron, what is Aaron 33? I would think that barring any injury - and he knows how to protect himself - six or seven years from now is a long time to think that far down the road, but there's no reason to think he couldn't play and play at a high level until, I'm not going to say 43, 44. It's up to the individual and I don't see any decline in his game unless he doesn't want to play anymore."

Barring unforeseen circumstances, Rodgers will continue to be the face of the franchise with no recourse in sight. As the season looms, Rodgers has the support of the only player who could rival him as the best in franchise history.