Aaron Rodgers has broken his silence following a recent darkness retreat, though he still hasn't revealed his thoughts or plans about his football future.
Instead, Rodgers was looking back at his recent past during a new podcast appearance, pausing to recount his four seasons under Packers head coach Matt LaFleur.
And, reading between the lines, it appears Rodgers hasn't always seen eye-to-eye with LaFleur.
"I've been doubted before," Rodgers said on the Aubrey Marcus Podcast. "Honestly, I felt in the first year that Matt was here -- in '19 -- I felt at times like a game manager. I didn't quite understand at times what we were doing on offense. My job is take care of the football, and I did. I threw four interceptions and 26 touchdowns, and we went 13-3, but I felt like there was so much more."
Rodgers then suggested that even he was doubting himself after 2019, but the Packers' surprise drafting of Jordan Love in the first round in 2020 lit a fire under him.
"Then, they drafted my replacement, and then I won MVP twice. I threw 85 touchdowns and nine interceptions in two years. Obviously, there were changes that happened on the [this year's] team and the coaching staff, and I didn't have my best year playing, and there's probably people who think I'm done. I thought I was done before I became MVP twice. There would be plenty of inspiration down that road."
It's still unclear whether Rodgers plans to play next season, and, if so, whether it would be with the Packers.
But parsing the final remark -- "there would be plenty of inspiration down that road" -- it certainly sounds like he is once again feeling a chip on his shoulder amid doubts about whether his best days are behind him.
Not to mention, publicly questioning your coach's offensive approach won't exactly engender good feelings.
Elsewhere in the interview, Rodgers said he would make his decision "soon enough," and also responded to critics who think he's being a diva amid his soul searching.
"If you don't like it, and you think it's drama, and you think I'm being a diva or whatever, then just tune it out. That's fine. But this is my life."
Rodgers added that there's a "finality" to his decision.
"I don't make it lightly."
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