Aaron Rodgers had one of the best seasons of his 16-year career, but there is speculation as to whether Rodgers has played his last season with the Green Bay Packers.
The Packers suffered a brutal 31-26 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship Game — much to the celebration of Chicago Bears fans. While there’s been plenty of discussion about Matt LaFleur choosing to forgo an opportunity to go for a touchdown rather than kick a field goal on fourth-and-goal in the closing minutes, there’s also been plenty of discussion about what’s next for Rodgers.
In his post game press conference, Rodgers sounded uncertain about what his future looks like with “a lot of unknowns” headed into this offseason.
“I’m going to have to take some time away, for sure, clear my head and kind of see what’s going on with everything,” Rodgers told the media.
"There's a lot of unknowns going into this offseason now."
Aaron Rodgers postgame: pic.twitter.com/VBGvBsYSCg
— ESPN (@espn) January 25, 2021
Rodgers’ postgame presser generated a ton of discussion about his future with the Packers beyond this season.
Aaron Rodgers sure sounded like a guy saying goodbye.
— Jason Wilde (@jasonjwilde) January 25, 2021
Aaron Rodgers just low key said he’s leaving the Packers. Good for him. He deserves better
— Drew (@drew_srna) January 25, 2021
Aaron Rodgers: “A lot of guys futures, they’re uncertain, myself included.”
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) January 25, 2021
Aaron Rodgers has one foot out the door. Leaving GB? Retiring?
— Michael Husted (@HustedMJ1) January 25, 2021
@AaronRodgers12 Really laying it on in the presser. I know he feels bad, we do too. He needs a few days on an island or something, again we do too. His biggest issue other than the changing roster seems to be not going for it on 4th Down, agreed. Seems to think leaving is option
— Randall J Mott (@PackerFever) January 25, 2021
Top potential Aaron Rodgers destinations in 2021: 49ers, Patriots, Steelers, Raiders, Colts, Saints.
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) January 25, 2021
Obviously there’s a bit of an overreaction to speculation about Rodgers potentially leaving the Packers, especially considering he’s a shoe-in to win MVP for an impressive season. But, at the same time, Green Bay made it clear that they were preparing for his departure when they drafted Jordan Love in the first round last year.
Bears fans would certainly be excited to see Rodgers go and welcome the Jordan Love era with open arms. Because after back-to-back Hall of Famers in Brett Favre and Rodgers, they couldn’t possibly get lucky with a third. Right?
