Greg Jennings still considers himself a Packer to an extent. He spent seven years in Green Bay and came to identify himself with the franchise. That, in part, explains his contentious split with the team in 2013, when a few less-than subtle jabs -- Jennings refusing to call Aaron Rodgers by name while praising Brett Favre, his sister's tirade against the Packers on Twitter -- suggested that he took it personally when he wasn't re-signed.
Greg Jennings has come a long way since his days with the Packers
Greg Jennings will forever be linked in various ways with the Packers, some bad and some good, but he’s a much different man now than he was in Green Bay.
Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
The move to Miami is different for many reasons, some of them basic -- Jennings spent just two years in Minnesota, so his emotional investment in the team wasn’t as great as it was when he made Green Bay home upon being drafted by the team in 2006. But at 31 years old, Jennings has also had a healthy dose of perspective. Football is his career, but it is far from the most important thing in his life.
The first indication may be how little attention he is paying to his new division rivals.
"I wouldn't even know anything about that," Jennings told SB Nation when asked about the punishment handed to the New England Patriots after DeflateGate. "I really don't follow football. Really."
Jennings doesn’t say that to disparage the Pats -- it’s not like failing to recall the name of his former quarterback. He has a lot going on off the field, including a foundation to benefit organizations that help educate youth.
His top priority is his four young children. The possibility of having to move at a moment’s notice is ever-present in an athlete’s career, and it’s a contingency that Jennings was better prepared for the second time he had to pack up his life. His family will be staying in Minneapolis as he continues his career in Miami. This will necessitate some shuttling back and forth, but it’s worth the effort to keep his family within a community he now considers home. It allows Miami to be a respite.
“So we always have sunshine in our back pocket,” Jennings laughs. “Just coming to grips with it, Daddy not being there has be -- I don’t want to say it’s a challenge, but it’s definitely been an adjustment. But we make sure that we talk every day, and FaceTime every day. It’s different, but at least they know that I’m still engaged with them.”
Perspective prepared him for the shock. Two years ago, Jennings was most known for being a Green Bay Packers wide receiver. A good one, at that. He averaged more than 16 yards per reception from 2007 through 2010. He finished as high as fourth in the NFL in receiving yards in a season. Jennings is the Packers' seventh-leading receiver of all time, and likely would have been as high as fifth when he left if not for an injury-plagued final two seasons. Jennings was on his way to being canonized by a fanbase more eager than any to fall in love with anything associated with its team.
The breakup was brutal. Jennings scorched the bridge he rode out on. He accused Green Bay players of being “brainwashed,” and though he would eventually admit that he was disappointed with how he left the team, it’s easy to understand that statement in the context of what Jennings was going through. His world shifted.
“I think it took a little longer to adjust to Minnesota coming from a place where, I had been there seven years and that was all I knew,” Jennings says. “Then going to Minnesota it was almost -- I would make reference to Green Bay sometimes, or when a guy would see me they would make reference to it automatically because that is what they knew.”
Leaving Minnesota had the potential to be contentious, too -- after all, the Packers didn't release Jennings like the Vikings did. Jennings is moving to Florida quietly, however. He liked Minnesota -- clearly, if he's settling his family there -- but admits that there wasn't much time to form an attachment to Minneapolis like he had with Green Bay.
Jennings likes Miami, too. More specifically, he likes Broward County, which will be his quiet new home just outside the city. He is working out daily and catching passes from Ryan Tannehill. Everything has been positive so far, but he hasn't experienced much in the few weeks since signing with the Dolphins. He is still acclimating but his goals are the same -- work hard, be a playmaker.
Jennings has plenty of years left to do that -- receivers often remain productive late into their careers, and peak after age 30 fairly often. But Jennings is looking ahead to life after football, all the same. Between his charity and his children, he is already much more than a football player. Three years removed from Green Bay, he’s certainly more than a former Packer.
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