Aaron Rodgers Expects To Make Decision In ‘Near Future’

Packers QB Aaron Rodgers said at NFL Honors last night that he plans to decide on his future “in the near future, and I’m not gonna keep a lot of people waiting.”

Rodgers explained that he wants to at least take some time to remove the emotion before making a decision about what comes next for him. 

“I think you’ve got to take some of the emotion out of it and then kind of lean into understanding what it takes to revamp and feel like what’s the best place,” Rodgers said, via ESPN.com. “The best decision for me moving forward — not really place — more just what does it feel like to commit to a season if that’s what I want to do? The good thing is I still feel like my body is in a good place.”

Throughout the evening, Rodgers credited the Packers including president Mark Murphy, vice president Russ Ball and general manager Brian Gutekunst.

“There was obviously some things that were voiced in the offseason, privately between him and myself, and I’m just thankful for the response,” Rodgers said of Gutekunst. “There was a lot of things that were done to make me feel really special and important, to the present, the past and the future of the franchise. And I’ve got to say that Russ and Brian especially had a big hand in that. And it didn’t go unnoticed.”

Rodgers stressed that he would be at peace retiring from the NFL, but later added that he’s still “highly competitive” and has a “bitter taste” left from their divisional game loss to the 49ers. 

“I talked at length at various times about being comfortable walking away and just not playing, and I don’t want to create more questions than I probably already have, but I don’t fear retirement; I don’t fear moving on,” he said. “I’m very proud of what I’ve accomplished, proud that I’ve accomplished it in Green Bay over the last 17 years and excited about the future, whatever that ends up being or looking like.

“Also still highly competitive and still [have] that bitter taste from the divisional game, so definitely a lot to weigh, but thankful for the Packers organization and the conversations that we had at the end of the season and just the way the whole season went. I was obviously frustrated about some things in the offseason. We had a ton of conversations and I just felt like there was so much growth, and I’m so thankful for that. I’m thankful for the relationships — with Brian as much as anybody.”

Rodgers left the door open-ended in terms of whether he’ll be back in Green Bay, but says there’s a good foundation for them to build off of from here either way. 

“I think there’s a lot to build on there, whether I’m there or not,” Rodgers said. “I think they’ve got a really good nucleus in place. Should I come back, there’s some things that need to get done, probably, to get the team where it needs to go. Should I feel like it’s my time to move on and do something else, I’ll be extremely eternally grateful for the Green Bay Packers organization, the fan base and all the incredible 17 years’ worth of memories and friendships and special, special moments that I’ve gotten to share with members of the organization, my teammates, people that work there and the fans, as well. I’m just super-thankful for every single moment in the journey.”

Rodgers’ own contract is among those that will need to be addressed. He’s set to have a cap hit of over $46 million in 2022, which is also the final year of his deal. A trade or extension are two ways to lower that. 

Rodgers, 38, is a former first-round pick of the Packers back in 2005. He agreed to a four-year, $134 million extension that includes over $100 million guaranteed in 2018. 

Rodgers is owed a base salary of $25 million in the final year of his deal in 2022, which is set to void seven days before the start of the 2023 league year.

In 2021, Rodgers appeared in 16 games for the Packers and completed 68.9 percent of his passes for 4,115 yards, 37 touchdowns and four interceptions. He has also rushed for 101 yards and three touchdowns.