AP

On Saturday night, at the NFL’s second annual postseason awards show, current Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and former Packers quarterback Brett Favre made a joint appearance. Rodgers said Tuesday that he hopes it’s the first step in a new era between Rodgers, Favre, and the franchise.

“As the face of the franchise now, [it’s] a role that I take very seriously,” Rodgers said Tuesday on his weekly ESPN Milwaukee radio show, via ESPN.com. “I have the responsibility and enjoy having the opportunity to represent my team. I think it’s important to realize that it is probably time to move forward.”

Rodgers, who hadn’t spoken to Favre since he was traded to the Jets during the 2008 preseason, said it was easy to persuade the 2011 NFL MVP to agree to the joint appearance, despite the history of tension between Favre and Rodgers.

“It didn’t take a lot of coaxing for me to do it,” Rodgers said. “I did want to sit and think about whether it was the right thing to do. I really feel very secure in my position with the team and feel good about the things that we’ve been able to accomplish in my five years as the starter, and feel good about the direction the organization is going in.

“Brett is two years removed from the game. He’s going to obviously be in the Packers Hall of Fame. He’ll get his number retired, and he’ll be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the next few years. It’s important, I think, to make sure that he’s recognized for all the accomplishments that he’s achieved in our organization especially. He’s still very dear to many of our fans for the things that he’s done for the Packers on the field. You can never take that away.”

Rodgers also realizes that he has an opportunity to play a key role in welcoming Favre back into the fold.

“You think about what you want your legacy to be and how you want to be remembered,” Rodgers said. “As I move forward . . . I think about how I want to be remembered, and this is one thing that I really want to move forward with.”

And so the hatchet between Favre and Rodgers appears to be on the way to being forever buried. Eventually, we’ll find out if the guy who bumps Rodgers out of Lambeau is equally magnanimous.