The Lions ended the Packers' season Sunday night, and possibly their tormentor's career. After Green Bay lost a must-win game to Detroit, the first question Aaron Rodgers faced from the media concerned his future. Where does he stand in regard to playing another year?
"It's a little raw right now," Rodgers said after the Packers' 20-16 loss Sunday night at Lambeau Field. "It's just a little bit after the game, so I want to take the emotion out of it and have conversations and see where the organization is at and how I feel after some time has passed."
Rodgers, who turned 39 in December, is under contract through 2024 after signing a three-year, $150 million extension last March. But if the Packers opt for a youth movement next season, he acknowledged that it could be time to move on, whether that means calling it a career or playing for someone else. Rodgers said whatever he decides, "It's gotta be mutual on both sides." That is, the decision is as much the Packers' as his own.
"At some point, the carousel comes to a stop and it's time to get off, and I think you kind of know when that is," Rodgers said. "That's what needs to be contemplated: Is it time? Also, what's the organization doing? That's part of it as well. ... Like I said, I feel good about what I've accomplished in this league and wouldn't have any regrets walking away, but I gotta see what it feels like once I get away from this."
Asked if he would be willing to leave up to $100 million on the table, Rodgers said, "Yes. Money is energy, and I have made a ton of it and I'm very thankful for this organization, the generational wealth that they've offered me, and hopefully they feel like that I've earned a lot of it. But yeah, for sure, I can definitely walk away from that."
Rodgers just had arguably the worst season of his career. The four-time MVP, who played through a fractured thumb for much of the year, finished with a career-low passer rating of 91.1 and threw 12 picks, the most since his first season as a starter. If Sunday was indeed his last game, his last pass will go down as an interception. Asked if falling short of the playoffs in a win-and-in game could push him toward returning, Rodgers said, "Not really."
"You want to go out winning the Super Bowl, but very rare that it actually gets to happen," he said. "Don't want to lose your last game and miss out on the playoffs, but this is a great profession and a really great business and it doesn't always end with rainbows for everybody."
So, if it's time to call it quits, how would Rodgers know?
"It's a feeling," he said. "Do I feel like I have anything left to prove to myself? Do I want to go back and gear up for another grind? Or is it time? Is it time to step away? Is it time for another voice to be leading this team? I think I need to get away and contemplate those things."
He added that he's "a realist and I understand where we're at as a team."
"We're a young team and there could be some changes with some of the older guys and it could be time to step away," Rodgers said. "But I could take some time and say, 'Hell no, I need to get back out there and go for another run.'"
Either way, Rodgers expects to make up his mind and inform the Packers of his decision in the next month or two.
"I'm not going to hold them hostage," he said. "I understand that we're still in January here, March is free agency, so just need some time to, like I said, get the emotion out of it and then figure out what's best."
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