Kerry Rhodes criticizes Brett Favre’s impact on Jets locker room

Kerry Rhodes called Brett Favre ‘disruptive’ as New York Jets QB

It is common knowledge that then-head coach Eric Mangini was not happy when the New York Jets traded for Brett Favre before the 2008 season. In fact, it took a lot of time to owner Woody Johnson to convince Mangini to bring in the former Green Bay Packers quarterback. Speaking on “The Herd,” former Jets safety Kerry Rhodes gave some insight into the dysfunction caused by Favre’s presence during his time with the team.

When asked how the locker room reacted to a player who wasn’t in the “status quo,” Rhodes gave some interesting insight into Favre’s actions with the Jets.

“Yeah, Brett coming in was definitely a disruptor,” Rhodes said. “We like the idea. I loved the idea. It was a good a friend of mine from when we were playing. But you started to see fractures. He wasn’t a guy who, in fact, dressed in the same locker room as us. SO even just the dynamics of how a locker room works, he didn’t fit that mold; and so you start making things happen when you know, as the season goes on. We had a great year. I think we were (8-3) at one point…when you win, that covers a lot of things. As soon as you get injured – (and) he had an injury that he didn’t tell the team about. He tried to fight to be tough, and you know that’s part of his DNA.

As Favre played through an injury, there were some quirks that didn’t sit well with some members of the locker room. That included dressing Favre on game day in the coaches’ locker room during the Jets’ four-game losing skid to end the season.

“As a team, before his arrival, we wearing costumes during away matches and get ready to play,” Rhodes said. “He wouldn’t do that.” He’d wear his Wranglers, he’d wear jeans, be comfortable. So things like that start to seep in, and then it’s no longer about the team.

As many Jets fans know, the 2008 team got off to an incredible start while Favre was healthy. Through the first 11 games of the season, Favre was ninth in passing yards (2,237), tied for fourth with 18 passing touchdowns, and fourth in completion percentage (69.8) among every quarter. Then, Favre tore his bicep, ruining his season and that of the Jets. The team would lose four of their final five games and miss the playoffs, finishing with a 9-7 record on the year.

Favre only considered retirement to return to the NFL and play for the Minnesota Vikings. There, he led the Vikings to a 12-4 record, first in the NFC North, and a conference championship appearance. Meanwhile, the Jets’ 1-4 loss cost Mangini his job, paving the way for the Rex Ryan era.