Aaron Rodgers considered retirement before returning to Packers
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: a future Hall of Fame quarterback for the Green Bay Packers has considered retirement.
No, this isn’t about Brett Favre, who waffled on playing or retiring for the better part of a decade. His successor, Aaron Rodgers, admitted Wednesday that he pondered the idea of retirement during his chaotic offseason.
“I was really working on myself, my own mental state throughout the summer and, at various points, deciding if I wanted to keep playing. But the fire still burns. And I wanted to be on the football team,” Rodgers said.
Rodgers, who didn’t participate during the offseason workout program while working through several different issues with the organization, said he enjoyed getting away from the game and taking time off this summer.
“It was definitely something I thought about,” Rodgers said of retirement. “But there is still a big competitive hole in my body that I need to fill.”
Rodgers, who turns 37 in December, said his body responded well to his regular offseason workouts in California leading up to training camp, giving him the confidence he could still play at a high level coming off an MVP season
“I just realized, I know I can still play, and I want to still play, and as long as I can give 100 percent to the team, that I should still play,” Rodgers said.
Rodgers threw 48 touchdowns passes and only five interceptions last season. He led the NFL in completion percentage and passer rating and was a first-team All-Pro and the near-consensus MVP.
He said he talked with several former teammates about everything that goes into retiring from football before eventually determining he wanted to keep playing.
“I definitely took my mind to that scenario and sat with those feelings, and what it would feel like, what that would look like,” Rodgers said. “There were things I needed to do and conversations I needed to have to put myself in the right headspace to come back here and be 100 percent in, which my teammates, the organization expect, and I expect of myself. I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t 100 percent all-in.”
Rodgers, a first-round pick in 2005, will play his 17th NFL season in 2021. He has been the starting quarterback in Green Bay since 2008.
Once his revised contract is finalized, Rodgers will have two years left on his deal. The Packers have agreed to revisit his situation in Green Bay after the season.
