Packers QB Aaron Rodgers 'wouldn't rule out' retiring after 2021 NFL season
GREEN BAY, Wis. — He may be on the verge of a fourth MVP award, which would be his second straight. His team has the NFL’s best record with two games left. A Super Bowl trip could be on the horizon.
From afar, Aaron Rodgers has every reason to return to the Green Bay Packers next year, to see how far he can carry this hot streak that began almost two full seasons ago.
The quarterback isn’t making any commitments now. In his most open comments regarding his future since training camp, Rodgers said he “wouldn’t rule out” retiring after this season. He also isn’t dismissing the possibility of returning to the Packers for an 18th season in 2022, though that would almost certainly require signing an extension.
Whatever he decides, Rodgers promised he will be swift. Rodgers had a front-row seat to the summer of 2008, when predecessor Brett Favre waffled on whether he wanted to play throughout the entire offseason, an ordeal that dragged into training camp.
“It won’t be something that I drag out for months and months,” Rodgers said. “I’ll have conversations with my loved ones after the season, with Brian (Gutekunst) and Mark (Murphy) and Russ (Ball) and the coaching staff, and then make a decision at some point. I’m not going to hold the team back from anything, and once I commit — and if it’s committing to move forward here — it’ll be a quick decision.”
The possibility Rodgers could retire after this season means Sunday’s kickoff against the Minnesota Vikings might be his final regular-season game at Lambeau Field. It won’t be his last time wearing a Packers jersey on the frozen tundra. With two games left, the Packers are in position to clinch the NFC’s top overall seed, something they can do this week with a victory coupled by a Dallas Cowboys loss.
Even if they falter, the Packers are assured at least one playoff game at home, courtesy of their third straight NFC North title.
The Rodgers window could be nearing an end whenever this season concludes. He preserved that possibility Wednesday. It might be stunning to consider the 38-year-old quarterback walking away now, still at the height of his game, but nobody expected Barry Sanders to retire when he did. Same for Andrew Luck.
Rodgers had his reasons when addressing potential retirement.
“I think that I’m just enjoying this season for this season,” Rodgers said, “and I think playing next year will definitely be in the thought process. One of the things that obviously — and you and I have talked about this over the years — wanting to not be a bum on the way out and still be able to play, I think, is important to me. If this year has taught me anything, it’s that I still can play. I still have a love for the game, I’m still super competitive and still enjoy the process of the week.
“I miss practice (because of a broken pinky toe), and it’s tough for me to not be out there week after week now, but I still do love competing and I love being out there.”
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Even if Rodgers is swift with his decision making this offseason, the quarterback said there will be “a lot of things” to consider.
He said his relationship with the Packers has improved, particularly with general manager Brian Gutekunst. He credited Gutekunst for being more open to receiving feedback on matters relating to the quarterback’s job, a major issue of discontentment for Rodgers after last season. Rodgers is thankful for Gutekunst trading a late-round draft pick to acquire close friend Randall Cobb from the Houston Texans, something the quarterback said has made this season “exponentially greater” for his happiness.
Rodgers remains close with his coaches and teammates, for whom the quarterback said he plays.
“There’ll be a lot of things that I weigh in the offseason,” Rodgers said. “Saying that doesn’t mean — or any of the comments I’ve made — doesn’t mean that I’m thinking about (playing) elsewhere. I do want to clarify that. The things that I’ve said about the team this year, about Brian and I’s relationship, has been heartfelt and genuine, and I do appreciate a lot of the things I’ve seen from the team that are directly related to conversations we had in the offseason. That was meaningful to me.”
Rodgers’ decision for 2022 will have a seismic impact on the Packers, starting with their ability to contend next season. With Rodgers, the Packers have an MVP-caliber quarterback who has led them to the NFL’s best record at 12-3. Without him, they have an inexperienced quarterback in Jordan Love, who struggled in losing his lone start this season at the Kansas City Chiefs.
An important byproduct of Rodgers’ future is how it ties to superstar receiver Davante Adams. In the midst of another potential record-breaking season, Adams is scheduled to become a free agent next spring. Adams said Rodgers’ status with the Packers could be connected to his own.
“Why wouldn’t it?” Adams said. “I’m playing with the best quarterback to play the game. There’s nothing other than me just having the connection I built up with my guy, and playing a certain way. So there’s that expectation, there’s that friendship built up in it. There’s a lot that goes into it.
“So obviously to a certain extent, it won’t be the end-all, be-all, but it definitely will be something I’m monitoring and paying attention to, to see where his head is at after all of this.”
Rodgers might be the front-runner to win his fourth MVP as the season winds down. He would be only the second player in NFL history to win four MVP awards, behind only Peyton Manning’s five. Rodgers is currently among six NFL players to win three MVPs in their career, a list that consists of Manning, Brett Favre, Tom Brady, Johnny Unitas and Jim Brown.
If he retires after winning MVP, Rodgers could join an even more exclusive group. He would be the first NFL player in 56 years to retire immediately after winning MVP. Jim Brown (1965) and Norm Van Brocklin (1960) are the only other MVPs to retire the next season.
Rodgers acknowledged a fourth MVP is important to him.
“This has been one of my favorite years of football," he said. "It’s hard to think of a year that I’ve enjoyed more than this one, even with all the adversity. It’s a lot of things that I mentioned, obviously having Randall back, and getting even closer to David (Bakhtiari). Loving the coaching staff, the response from the fans, the support that I’ve gotten, and then the ability to still go out on the field and perform.
"I’ve told the guys this a few times, when I’ve had the opportunity to speak to them pregame. One of the greatest satisfactions in life is being held to a standard by your teammates and living up to that standard. I know when I take the field that there’s a standard that those guys hold me to, and there’s an expectation of performance. To be able to go out there and perform week after the week the way that I want to perform has been extremely meaningful to me.
“I’ve really enjoyed this season, and I would definitely like to finish out the year strong and win my fourth.”