Green Bay Packers

Former Packers star James Jones loves Antonio Brown's skill set ... but he says Green Bay does NOT need to sign the guy to make a serious playoff run.

Brown's been a free agent ever since New England cut ties with him earlier this month ... and some believe he'd be the perfect fit with Aaron Rodgers and the Cheeseheads.

But, Jones tells TMZ Sports Brown has to get all of his legal problems squared away before that talk even remotely begins.

And ... even if AB is able to get all that taken care of, Jones says it ain't necessary for Matt LaFleur to go out and add the problematic wide receiver.

"They've got everything they need to make a playoff run right now," Jones tells us.

Sorry, Tom Brady ... you AIN'T the best quarterback ever -- so says former NFL stud James Jones, who tells TMZ Sports Aaron Rodgers is the G.O.A.T.!!!

"I think Rodgers is the best quarterback that I've ever seen," Jones says. "Period."

Of course, James is a bit biased ... the 35-year-old ex-receiver played with Rodgers for 8 seasons from 2007-2015 -- but he swears he's NEVER seen a QB that tops Aaron.

"If it's a quarterback that can make special throws, and run out of the pocket and make throws on the run, the first guy you compare him to is Aaron Rodgers," Jones says.

"'Cause he's the first one that we've really seen do it consistently and do it at a very high level."

Rodgers' numbers don't exactly back up Jones' claim ... the Packers superstar is only 16th all-time in passing yards and just 9th all-time in passing TDs. Plus, he's only got 1 Super Bowl ring.

But, Jones says from a talent standpoint, there's just never been anybody better than Rodgers -- and now that Green Bay's got a defense ... Jones is telling the league to watch out.

Marquez Valdes-Scantling ain't just a beast on the gridiron ... the Green Bay Packers stud WR is a killer on the sticks too -- telling TMZ Sports he could be a pro gamer!!!

The 24-year-old has become Aaron Rodgers' second-favorite target this season ... and after he scored a 40-yard TD on Sunday, he busted out a famous Fortnite dance in the end zone.

So, when we spoke with him on Monday ... we had to ask, what was the inspiration for that???

That's when Valdes-Scantling told us he's a huge gamer ... and he's so good -- he thinks he could be up there on stages with Ninja and FaZe Censor!!!

"I definitely think I'm good enough to play professionally," Marquez says.

Of course, Valdes-Scantling has a pretty good career going for himself in Green Bay ... and tells us there's ZERO chance of him leaving football for pro gaming.

Brett Favre believes in his Green Bay Packers -- telling TMZ Sports they're gonna "surprise a lot of people" this season and WIN the NFC North!!!!

The Hall of Famer knows there's been a lot of changes with his squad over the past year, but the most important component is Aaron Rodgers ... and Favre is a STRONG believer.

But, how will Rodgers get along with new head coach Matt LaFleur?

"It will be interesting to see how the dynamics work as the season unfolds," Favre says.

"I don't know much about LaFleur, he may be a great coach, might be a great guy, I don't know ... I don't know him, it's not my place to say anything in regards to that."

"But, I do know Aaron. And, the reason they've been in contention year in and year out is because of him ... and you don't want to restrict even though, supposedly, the offense has changed to a certain extent. We will see. We'll see how that plays out this whole season."

There's been talk that LaFleur is taking away Aaron's ability to call audibles at the line of scrimmage ... but Favre thinks that would be a mistake.

"We'll see how much freedom is granted towards Aaron and rightfully so. He deserves to play and just to do what he does best."

As for the 2019 Packers, Favre says the most important thing is to "find their identity again ... and I know it rests with Aaron Rodgers."

And, when they get clickin', Favre says the sky's the limit.

"I think they may surprise a lot of people ... I tend to think that they'll slip in there and win the division."

Of course, they'll have to start by defeating the Chicago Bears on Thursday Night Football -- a game Favre is so excited about, he agreed to promote it with the help of the Bears' superfans from 'SNL.'

Is this cultural appropriation???

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers touched down in Winnipeg on Wednesday wearing traditional Canadian garb -- denim from head to toe -- and it was pretty amazing!!!

The 35-year-old paired his "Canadian Tuxedo" with a strong mustache Burt Reynolds would have been proud of ... all to get ready for a Thursday night pre-season game against the Oakland Raiders.

The Canadian tux is an outfit steeped in tradition ... everyone from Bing Crosby to Justin Timberlake and even Britney Spears have embraced the look at one point of their lives.

... and yeah, even Tupac sported the look back in the day.

Sorry to crush the dreams of everyone hoping to see 49-year-old Brett Favre unretire (again) and suit up for 2020 ... the Gunslinger tells TMZ Sports his Instagram was HACKED.

Football fans lost their minds after Favre's verified IG account posted a throwback pick from Super Bowl XXXI with the caption "A true champion sticks to his or her calling. I will be coming out of retirement and making my return to play in the NFL for the 2020 season."

The post was deleted minutes later ... leaving people to speculate whether Favre was really coming back again.

Look, we've seen Favre throw passes recently and the guy still has a cannon for an arm. In fact, in late 2017 Favre told TMZ Sports he was confident he could still make NFL throws but didn't want to take the hits anymore!!!

So, when we saw the new Instagram comeback post, we had to call him up to see if he was REALLY trying to get back in the league ... but alas, it was not meant to be.

Favre says the explanation is simple -- someone hacked his social media account -- he's not trying to pull a Rafael Palmeiro and play pro ball into his 50s.

Now, Favre says the phony post was deleted and his team is scrambling to find the culprit.

"There's finally a talent where they can say they're better than me at."

DAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGG!!!!

Aaron Rodgers shaded the HELL out of his NFC North counterparts Tuesday ... congratulating them on being better beer chuggers than him -- by ripping their hearts out and eating it.

If ya missed it ... Rodgers couldn't slug down a beer at a Milwaukee Bucks game a few weeks ago -- and the Internet went crazy ripping the guy.

Some of those involved in the Rodgers trolling? Bears QB Mitch Trubisky and Lions QB Matt Stafford -- who both posted vids of them destroying some suds in response.

Well, Rodgers saw that ... and clapped right back at the QBs during his news conference this week, saying, "As far as those other guys, for some of them, there's finally a talent where they can say they're better than me at."

Of course, Rodgers has demolished both the Bears and the Lions in his career ... so no coming back for Stafford and Trubisky from here.

The Green Bay Packers just suffered their first major injury of the 2019 season -- because the HEAD COACH just popped his Achilles playing basketball!!!

Matt LaFleur -- who just locked down Green Bay's head coaching job back in January -- reportedly shredded his lower leg playing a game of knockout on a Lambeau court Wednesday.

Per NFL.com's Michael Silver -- the 39-year-old tore the tendon and will have surgery to fix the issue on Sunday.

Silver adds LaFleur -- a Sean McVay pupil -- will now be coaching from a golf cart during Packers practices the next few weeks.

"Good evening Paradise High School, I'm Aaron Rodgers ..."

Yeah, we know.

The Packers QB made a pretty cool prom video for the students affected by the NorCal wildfires -- touching on everything from sports to dancing ... even dating.

"Dance your ass off," Rodgers told the students ... "And, enjoy this special time in your life, especially you, seniors. Things will never be like this again."

"Cherish the friendships, the relationships, the sports games, the breakups, and all the amazing things that make up your high school years as you grow up and figure out this life."

Rodgers is from Northern California and previously donated $1 MILLION toward wildfire relief efforts.

In the clip -- part of a 35-minute video packed with huge stars -- Rodgers acknowledges how difficult rebuilding can be ... but essentially tells the kids to keep their heads up.

"You've all been through a lot. But I hope you all know how much love and support you have had and will continue to have throughout the rebuilding process."

The video was put together by local mom Melanie Little -- who was inspired to do something after she saw all the loss the high school had suffered in November's devastating fires.

Aaron Rodgers was DEFINITELY in Sunday night's episode of "Game of Thrones" ... but the question -- did he die or what?!

The Green Bay Packers QB not only posted a photo showing himself in full #GoT costume, but he also participated in a promotional package for the episode.

Here's the problem ... Aaron's cameo (or cameos?) was so brief, there's a debate over whether he survived Daenerys Targaryen's dragon-led assault on King's Landing.

Rodgers was first spotted as an archer in the Lannister army -- but that doesn't match the costume from his IG photo.

There's also video of him helping (?) a woman during the assault on the city. And then, more footage shows a person who looks like Aaron getting consumed by a wall of flames while trying to escape.

So, was he an archer AND a King's Landing-er? Did he survive the fire attack?

Of course, Aaron ain't the only celebrity to make a cameo on the show -- Rob McElhenney from "It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia" got an arrow through the face earlier this season.

Ditto for Martin Starr.

Scary moment for Green Bay Packers fans ... when Aaron Rodgers almost got TRUCKED Wednesday night at the Milwaukee Bucks playoff game!!

Don't worry ... he's fine. But, good lord.

The Packers QB was sitting courtside with girlfriend Danica Patrick at Fiserv Forum in Wisconsin to watch the Bucks take on the Detroit Pistons in Game 2 of their NBA playoff series.

All of the sudden, Bucks shooting guard Pat Connaughton came charging toward the sideline ... and nearly crashed into Green Bay's $134 MILLION man.

Scary considering Rodgers just revealed he played most of the 2018 season with a broken bone in his leg ... and EVERYONE wants a healthy Rodgers this time around.

... especially Packers legend Brett Favre, who recently told us he thinks Rodgers is the best player in football -- better than Tom Brady -- and he's expecting BIG things from the QB in 2019.

Tim Tebow and Reggie Bush are NOT the greatest college football players ever ... so says Brett Favre, who tells TMZ Sports that honor belongs to Southern Miss QB Reggie Collier.

"Not only is he the greatest player in Southern Miss history, he is, in my opinion, the greatest college football player ever."

So, who is Reggie Collier? He was a star quarterback for the Golden Eagles from 1979 to 1982 ... and he piled up 3,662 passing yards and 2,304 rushing yards in his 4 collegiate seasons.

Favre says he knows those numbers don't exactly compare to Tebow's and Bush's -- who, by the way, both won Heisman Trophies -- but he still says the guy is the best he's seen.

"Physically, he was second to none," Favre tells us ... "And would still be second to none at 6'4", 225, 230, ran a 4.4 40, could throw the lights out of it ... I don't think that any person watching him could not marvel at what he was able to do."

"I certainly wanted to be him."

Favre can't exactly be him these days ... but the Packers legend has a chance to BEAT him -- the two will square off as honorary coaches in this weekend's Southern Miss spring game.

As for the whole best college football player ever debate ... here's some vid of Collier. Does he look as good as Tebow or Bush to you???

Brett Favre says he was surprised Mike McCarthy wasn't more successful as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers ... because his QB, Aaron Rodgers, is "the best player in the game."

"I just feel they should have won more," Favre told us ... "They were that good."

Now, in the wake of a Bleacher Report article that featured quotes from ex-Packers who were critical of Aaron's leadership skills, Brett says he thinks Aaron now understands why Favre was "guarded" back when they first started playing together in 2005.

"He's really at the stage now where I was when he came into Green Bay ... and now he sorta sees why I did the things that I did and was more reclusive than younger players."

"I think as you get older you're a little bit more guarded, maybe a lot more guarded for reasons like this."

Favre says when he left Green Bay back in 2007, "there was a lot of daggers being thrown both ways" -- but now that he's had time to reflect, he knows dagger-throwing isn't the best way to handle tough situations.

And, get this, now that McCarthy is out and Matt LaFleur is the new head coach -- Favre has some advice for the new guy on how to get the BEST out of Aaron.

"Any coach that will attempt to coach him has to tread lightly because you don't want to take away what he does so well -- which is a lot of good things -- and handcuff him."

Add "Boyfriend of the Year" to Aaron Rodgers' trophy case ... the QB took Danica Patrick to Paris for her birthday -- and she was SWOOOOONNNNIIINGGGG!!!!

"For my birthday he said pack a bag, we are going somewhere......" the ex-NASCAR driver said ... "Amazing."

The Green Bay Packers superstar and Danica have been going strong for over a year now ... and things are DEFINITELY getting serious.

The two have traveled the world together during Aaron's downtime from football ... with both droppin' L-bombs left and right -- and postin' lovey-dovey pics all the time.

But, France for an on-the-whim birthday trip?? Now, we KNOW this really ain't a fling ...

"Happy Birthday to this Beautiful, intelligent, strong, driven, bad ass woman that I get to stand beside in this life," Aaron wrote ... "#lover #friend #travelpartner #smokinhot #finewine"

Aaron's got a few more months to hang with Danica before it's back to the daily grind of Packers training camp.

Which begs the question ... could there be a ring in Danica's future before Aaron chases his second one with the Pack next season????

Stay tuned ...

Ex-Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy is under fire after officials say they have video of the 55-year-old berating officials at his stepson's high school basketball game.

McCarthy was allegedly pissed off at the referees after his stepson's Notre Dame Academy lost to Pulaski High on Tuesday night ... and followed the refs as they left the court.

Officials say McCarthy went on a "verbal tirade" -- using inappropriate language to rip the refs.

Officials have filed an "abuse against contest officials" complaint against McCarthy and the school is investigating.

Footage captured by the school district shows a man -- identified as McCarthy -- following the refs and yelling at them.

Pulaski athletic director Janel Batten explained it this way -- "This parent chose to follow the officials and berate them, which is clearly unacceptable."

"Some things were said, some language was used that we don't want in our gym, unsportsmanlike language," she told WLUK.

McCarthy has reportedly been a regular at his stepson's basketball games this season.

McCarthy coached the Packers from 2006 to 2018 -- leading the Cheeseheads to a Super Bowl victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2011.

He was fired last year after reported tension between him and star quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Sorry, Packers fans ... Brett Favre says he's almost certainly not coming back to coach Green Bay -- but he does know who should ... DOUG PEDERSON!!!

Favre is actually a candidate to replace the fired Mike McCarthy, according to some gambling sites ... and while No. 4 says he's flattered, he can't see that happening right now.

So -- we had to ask -- who WOULD be a good fit for the spot??

Brett threw a couple names at us -- including an ex-Seahawks offensive coordinator and the current Bills OC -- before he revealed the most intriguing name.

"Doug Pederson," Favre says.

Of course, Pederson's got a pretty good job already -- coaching Carson Wentz and the Eagles in Philadelphia with one Super Bowl ring already on his finger.

But, crazier things have happened ... and there is an obvious connection to Green Bay -- Pederson played there for two separate stints when was a QB in the league.

No matter who eventually takes the job ... Favre tells us they better get ready to give the reins to Aaron Rodgers.

"You make sure that Aaron runs the show," Brett says.