Apparently, you can blame it on the ghee.
NFL star Aaron Rodgers has revealed his cryptic Instagram post on Monday evening that sent rumours of retirement into a reignited flurry was less a tearful sayonara to all things Green Bay as it was the product of very comprehensive cleansing.
The Green Bay Packers quarterback cleared the air of his vague Instagram post when he went on the “The Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday.
No, that reminiscent four-by-four slideshow of the 2011 Super Bowl champ’s finest moments donning the Packers shirt this season did not stipulate he was hanging up the boots for good.
Turns out, the 38-year-old had merely undergone a physical, and ostensibly emotional, 12-day detox after what can only be described as a wild ride for the season MVP.
Rodgers told McAffee that he participated in a Panchakarma cleanse, a multi-step ayurvedic therapy performed to remove toxins from the body. The practice incorporates ghee, or clarified butter and helps, more or less, let everything out.
And Rodgers did just that.
Despite the multiple paragraphs expressing his gratitude for his franchise, coaching staff and teammates, not least the “Friday Crew”, Rodgers any decision on his future was still being mooted.
Where Rodgers does or doesn't wind up has firmly fixed itself amongst this off season’s biggest headlines as any decision will impact the NFL landscape and send a flurry of decisions zigging and zagging. Currently, Rodgers can return, request a trade or retire.
Some experts have pontificated that Rodgers could follow the mercenary blueprint that fellow quarterbacks Tom Brady and Matthew Stafford have pristinely executed: jumping ship from one franchise and planting their feet in another that is primed for a Super Bowl ring but missing that veteran gunslinger in the pocket.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported earlier this month that the Packers are willing to make Rodgers the NFL’s highest-paid quarterback on a per-year basis if he chooses the return option.
Patrick Mahomes currently ranks as the highest paid quarterback in the league, with an average of $45 million per season.
The shift in narrative from last season is stark. Then, Rodgers felt aggrieved at his lack of say in football matters and a move away from his long-time franchise seemed imminent. But the once-fractured relationship has, for now, found some mend.
Whether that mend will be enough to keep Rodgers in Green Bay, time will tell. Any chance of a Green Bay Super Bowl challenge is likely contingent on Rodgers’ return.
There are big decisions. And then there are big decisions, the ones that alter franchises and leagues.
Rodgers will need more than one detox to make his.
