Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said Wednesday on the Aubrey Marcus Podcast that his decision regarding whether to retire or play in 2023 is on the horizon.
Tyler Dunne of Go Long tweeted a transcript of Rodgers' discussion about his playing future, and during the conversation, Rodgers stressed the importance of not drawing out the process:
The 39-year-old veteran concluded by saying, "I'll make a decision soon enough, and we'll go down that road. I'll be really excited about it."
Rodgers recently completed a darkness retreat at a facility in Oregon, meant to aid him in focusing on himself and deciding how to approach his future as an NFL quarterback.
Per ESPN's Xuan Thai, Rodgers stayed at Sky Cave Retreats. The owner of the facility, Scott Berman, described the dwelling Rodgers stayed in for several days as a "partially underground structure devoid of light, with a queen bed, a bathroom and a meditation-like mat."
During his podcast appearance, Rodgers said he was "thankful" for the time he spent in the dark since it helped give him some clarity about his next move.
If Rodgers retires, it will allow the Packers to pivot to 2020 first-round pick Jordan Love as their starting quarterback, but Rodgers returning would complicate matters.
At the point, the Packers would have to decide between keeping Rodgers and perhaps never giving Love an opportunity to start, or trading Rodgers and ending their 18-year relationship with him.
Rodgers made it clear he wants to come to a conclusion early so as not to leave everyone else hanging in the balance. He referenced Brett Favre waffling between retirement and playing in 2008, which led to the Packers trading Favre to the New York Jets.
Now, Rodgers finds himself in a similar situation to Favre with a first-round pick behind him waiting for an opportunity, although, Rodgers wants to make a firm decision soon, whereas Favre didn't state his intention to come back and play until the summer of 2008.
Rodgers is one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history with 10 Pro Bowls, four first-team All-Pro selections, four NFL MVP Awards and one Super Bowl win to his credit.
He won back-to-back MVP Awards in 2020 and 2021 before falling off a bit last season. In addition to the Packers going just 8-9 and missing the playoffs, Rodgers completed 64.6 percent of his passes for 3,695 yards, 26 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, the latter of which were his most since his first year as a starter in 2008.
Despite that, Rodgers feels he can bounce back, just like he did following a less-than-stellar 2020 season:
If Rodgers still wants to play and the Packers decide to move on, there still figures to be a market for Rodgers' services, as several NFL teams could benefit from a veteran starting quarterback.
The Jets and Las Vegas Raiders have been mentioned most often as potential landing spots for Rodgers, and if he has any interest in playing for them or elsewhere, it would behoove him to make a decision soon.
New York and Vegas figure to move quickly in free agency or the trade market to address their quarterback quandaries, meaning Rodgers would be wise to make himself available by the start of free agency if he wants to keep playing and the Packers want to go with Love.
