With the potential of winning a second Super Bowl and fourth NFL MVP, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has a beautiful short-term future within reach.
His long-term future, however, remains unchanged.
While his focus is on this season, Rodgers delivered a lengthy response when asked about 2022. Everything is in play, he said. Even retirement.
“I wouldn’t rule that out,” Rodgers said.
That seems an unlikely resolution. Rodgers said he’s having his one of his favorite years in his 17 professional seasons. A week sidelined by COVID and the controversy that followed, along with a broken toe that’s kept him mostly off the practice field for six weeks, have been significant barriers. But Rodgers, who ranks No. 1 in the NFL in passer rating, is in elite form, and the Packers, with an NFL-best 12-3 record, are an elite team.
Moreover, after his dispute with management sucked the air out of the offseason, he feels better about his spot on the team he’s been quarterbacking since 2008.
“There will be a lot of things that I’ll weigh in the offseason,” Rodgers said as part of the accompanying video. “Saying that doesn’t mean I’m thinking about elsewhere. The things that I’ve said about the team this year, about Brian’s and I’s relationship, has been heartfelt and genuine. I do appreciate a lot of the things that I’ve seen from the team that are directly related to conversations we had in the offseason, and that was meaningful to me. I’ve enjoyed being a part of conversations that directly affect my job, which I talked about in the offseason, and Brian’s taken the lead in that, and I do appreciate the way our relationship has grown.”
Brian – general manager Brian Gutekunst – went all-in this offseason. After a second consecutive loss in the NFC Championship Game, the Packers went into this past offseason with a massive salary-cap problem spurred by a COVID-impacted salary cap. In years past, the team might have gutted the roster and relied on Rodgers to keep the team relevant. Gutekunst, however, restructured just about every contract possible to keep the bulk of the roster together. He even scraped up enough money to re-sign running back Aaron Jones.
Gutekunst went even further, signing linebacker De’Vondre Campbell in June and, at Rodgers’ urging, trading for receiver Randall Cobb at the start of training camp. That transaction has made this season “exponentially greater for me as far as happiness,” Rodgers said. Early in the season, Gutekunst added veteran outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus.
Cap problems or no cap problems, those weren’t the type of additions Rodgers had seen made through his career. While Mercilus is on injured reserve, those transactions showed Gutekunst’s focus was on winning today – an approach obviously appreciated by Rodgers.
With a talented roster and a strong bond with coach Matt LaFleur, offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett and quarterbacks coach Luke Getsy, Rodgers and the Packers are thriving.
And all of that has seemingly improved the chances that Rodgers will be back and Gutekunst will scrap the presumptive passing of the torch to Jordan Love, a transition that seemed obvious from the moment Love was drafted in the first round in 2020.
“I think that I’m just enjoying this season for this season, and I think playing next year will definitely be in the thought process,” he said. “One of the things that [I’ve said] over the years [was] wanting to not be a bum on the way out. To still be able to play is important to me. If this year has taught me anything, it’s that I still can play, I still have a love for the game, I’m still super-competitive and still enjoy the process of the week. I miss practice and it’s tough to not be out there week after week now, but I still do love competing and I love being out there.”
Last offseason, Rodgers skipped all the offseason workouts and his return to the Packers wasn’t secured until just before the start of training camp. That won’t be the case this coming offseason, he said.
From the team’s perspective, it will need an answer not long after this season ends. Due in part to Gutekunst’s all-in approach that included a restructured contract for Rodgers, the Packers will enter the coming offseason about $46 million over next year’s cap. Rodgers’ cap charge for 2022 is $46.1 million. If the Packers are going to move on, they’ll need to offload Rodgers’ contract ASAP, which would take a $19.3 million bite out of the mountainous problem. If the Packers are going to move forward with Rodgers, they’ll need to restructure his contract ASAP.
Even if Rodgers returns, it will be a different team in 2022 because it’s always a different team. Among the key free agents is Rodgers’ star receiver and close friend, Davante Adams.
“I’m just savoring this year as much as anything,” Rodgers said. “It won’t be something where I’ll drag it out for months and months. I’ll have conversations with my loved ones after the season, with Brian and Mark (Murphy) and Russ (Ball) and the coaching staff, and then make a decision at some point. I’m not going to hold the team back from anything and once I commit – and if it’s committing to move forward here, it will be a quick decision.”
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