Aaron Rodgers won the NFL MVP award for a second straight year and the fourth time in his career. During Thursday's NFL awards broadcast, he was asked about what lies ahead for his career.
Rodgers and the Packers had their season ended prematurely, with a home loss in the divisional round to the 49ers. In the weeks after that game, he's kept all options open for his future: a return to Green Bay, a move to another team or retirement after back-to-back MVP campaigns.
“I got some decisions to make, for sure,” Rodgers told NFL Network's Taylor Bisciotti. “Yesterday was like the first day that kind of felt like the offseason... I'm gonna enjoy the next couple of weeks. I've had good conversations with Green Bay, and I'll do some contemplating and make a decision here pretty quick.”
After the loss to the 49ers, Rodgers said that he “doesn't want to be part of a rebuild.” The team faces some serious salary cap issues after going all-in for 2021–22 and is projected to be $40 million over the cap next season based on the current roster.
Rodgers has a cap number of over $46 million for next year, so if he is to return, it will probably take another restructured deal with Green Bay.
After a tumultuous 2021 offseason, he maintains that he doesn't intend to drag things out and will make a decision soon. In late January, he told the Pat McAfee Show that he intends to make a call ahead of free agency and hinted that it could even come before the Packers have to make a franchise tag decision on superstar wide receiver Davante Adams later this month.
One thing that he doesn't see as an option: retiring and then coming back.
“I don’t have any desire to do that,” he told McAfee. That makes no sense. I feel like I’m at the place with the Packers, you know in a really good place, especially with Brian [Gutekunst], and the way our friendship and trust has grown, where it would be a simple conversation, and whatever comes out of that conversation is moving forward.”
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