After losing the NFC Championship game Sunday, Aaron Rodgers’ honest answers — saying the future for was “uncertain” for several players, including himself — nearly sent some Green Bay Packers fans into a meltdown.
Could that uncertainty mean Rodgers planned to retire? Or did he want to force a trade to another team?
Well, it appears as if the answer is none of the above, actually. The quarterback appeared on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday and Rodgers elaborated on what he meant by uncertainty.
“It was more a realization, I think, that ultimately my future is not necessarily in my control,” Rodgers said. “And I think that just hit me in the moment, I was thinking about Aaron Jones, Corey Linsley, other guys we have under contract, Big Dog [Marcedes Lewis], guys who I don’t know what their future is going to be. And myself included.”
“I don’t feel like I said anything that I hadn’t said before.. It was just more of a realization I think that ultimately my future is not necessarily in my control…
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 26, 2021
I don’t think there’s any reason I wouldn’t be back”@AaronRodgers12 #PatMcAfeeShowLIVE pic.twitter.com/u1Qnjiugv6
Rodgers is coming off an MVP-caliber season, throwing for 4,299 yards and 48 touchdowns to five interceptions. He still has three years remaining on his Packers contract worth $74.22 million, according to Spotrac, a website that tracks contract information for professional sports.
That contract would make it difficult to trade Rodgers, even if he wanted to leave. But he doesn’t seem to want a departure.
“You know, now obviously after the season that I had, potentially winning an MVP, and we obviously made another good run, I don’t think that there’s any reason why I wouldn’t be back,” Rodgers said. “But, look, there’s not many absolutes, as you guys know in this business. So to make an absolute statement about something that is not an absolute, I didn’t do it. And that’s why it went kind of nuts.”
Green Bay’s president and CEO Mark Murphy also quashed the sentiment that Rodgers might leave. Appearing on a Packers radio show Monday, Murphy said, “We’re not idiots. Aaron Rodgers will be back, he’s our leader.”
Packers fans, it seems safe to take your hand off the panic button.
• Andy Kostka can be reached at akostka@washingtontimes.com.
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