Rodgers says ‘everything is on the table’ with future, including retirement

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers says he doesn’t know yet what his future holds, but there is one thing he does know: he will not come out of retirement to play somewhere else if he does decide to end his career.

That, of course, is how Brett Favre ended his playing career. But Rodgers said Tuesday on the Pat McAfee Show that once he makes a decision on his future — whether it’s to return, ask for a trade, or retire — he won’t be changing his mind.

“It’ll be a lot of intuition and a lot of feel,” Rodgers said of his decision. “I don’t want to be sitting there during the season going, ‘man, I probably should have hung it up,’ or sitting there not at an organization and going, ‘God, I should be playing right now.’ I think it’s just the trust that I will know exactly what to do, and once you make a decision, that’s the decision.”

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Rodgers says retirement remains an option, and one he isn’t scared of if that’s what he decides.

“There’s not any fear, I don’t have a fear of retirement,” Rodgers said. “The uncertainty is not unsettling at all, it’s almost exciting thinking about what life is going to look like moving forward.”

Rodgers says he understands his decision affects the decisions of many others — specifically the team’s general manager Brian Gutekunst, but also star wide receiver Davante Adams — so he won’t drag the process out like he did last offseason.

“I feel like I’m at the place relationally with the Packers, a really good place, especially with Brian 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,” Rodgers said.

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“There’s not going to be any weird standoff, war of silence or anything, Brian and I have had good conversations throughout the year and when it comes time to make a decision, we’ll have a conversation, and that will be that, it won’t be a long, drawn-out process. I think that’s what’s best for me, for him, and for the organization.”

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Some NFL insiders have reported Rodgers hopes to make his decision before the start of the NFL free agency period on March 16, but Rodgers said Tuesday he could possibly make a decision sometime in February, ahead of the NFL’s March 8 deadline to apply the Franchise tag to soon-to-be free agents — like Adams. A decision before that time could also allow the Packers to address the quarterback position in April’s NFL Draft.

Rodgers says he will take some time to “grieve” over the unexpected end to the Packers’ season, including his own frustrations with how he played in the playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers. However, he says he won’t start thinking about his future until those thoughts have cleared.

“It comes down to how you’re feeling. Can you still play, do you still have the same commitment and enjoyment with the game, and do you want to sign up for the grind again?” Rodgers said. “I think the only way of knowing that is to probably get away from it for a little bit, let your mind clear, and then think about it and think about the enormity of the task and what would bring you the most enjoyment.”

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