After signing with Green Bay’s biggest rival, Minnesota Vikings receiver Greg Jennings took out a full-page ad in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Wednesday to thank Packers fans for their support in his first seven NFL seasons.
In the ad, titled “A Bittersweet Farewell,” Jennings thanked “Packers Nation” for all their support.
“It has been 7 years since I was first blessed with the opportunity to be a part of such a wonderful organization and community. I want to take this time to thank each and every one of you for opening your arms and hearts to my family and me, and for making Green Bay an easy place to love and call home.
“Although the business side of this great game has brought about change, my family and I will be forever indebted to the Packers organization and fans for giving us the opportunity to be a part of an amazing culture.
“Even when gone or simply far away, memories are like a strong emotion, they seem to somehow stay.
Jennings signed a five year, $47.5 million contract with the Vikings last week.
If this story of a high-profile Packers player joining the Vikings sounds familiar, that’s because it is. Safety Darren Sharper, kicker Ryan Longwell and, of course, quarterback Brett Favre defected before him.
“I’m not the first Packers player to jump on this side,” he said with a smile last week at his introductory news conference.
He said this week that he sought Favre’s advice to help him make his decision. He told ESPN’s “NFL Live” on Tuesday that he sought Favre’s insight on the Vikings organization and he knew he could rely on Favre because he would “shoot it straight.”
The 29-year-old Jennings played in only eight games for the Packers in 2012, plus two in the playoffs, because of a torn lower abdominal muscle and finished with a career-low 366 yards receiving with an average of 10.2 yards per catch, also his worst NFL total.
Jennings has been Aaron Rodgers’ favorite target the last few years. Before his injury-marred 2012 season, he had caught 67 or more passes in each of the previous four seasons, and gone over 1,000 yards receiving in all but one of those years. He finished with 949 yards in 2011 after missing three games with a knee injury.
He’s in the top 10 in Packers franchise history in catches (425, seventh), yards receiving (6,537, seventh) and touchdown catches (53, fifth).
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
This article was originally posted on ESPN.com