Another NFL off-season, another formerly elite quarterback unsure about his future. It seems like this has been a yearly event since the days of Bret Favre and his “will he, won’t he” act. Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers have spent numerous off-seasons teasing fans and teammates alike. At this point, who cares?
It isn’t like we are talking about an elite level talent still in his prime like Andrew Luck when he unexpectedly hung it up several years back. It isn’t like we are talking about Tom Brady, who still had a good year or two in him before he went to Tampa. This is a clearly washed Aaron Rodgers. Instead of just quietly walking away, Rodgers disappeared to a “darkness retreat” to find some clarity. That’s not douchey at all! Fox Sports 1 co-host Joy Taylor had this to say courtesy of Total Pro Sports:
“He wasn’t committed last year. What’s changed about this year that is going to make him more committed to the Packers?” Taylor said. “It just doesn’t make sense to me that you would count on someone being a different human, having a different approach to life when none of the circumstances have changed.”
Taylor added that she feels the relationship between Rodgers and the Packers “feels like a divorce that has been very publicly happening for the past three years.”
A look inside Sky Cave Retreats in Oregon — where Aaron Rodgers just finished his darkness retreat: pic.twitter.com/u84nTvjMjP
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) February 23, 2023
Rodgers has definitely become more outspoken about social issues, covid mandates and politics in his old age, but his play has sharply declined as well. Is it a coincidence that the more “hippy” and outspoken Rodgers becomes, the less focused he seems to be on football? Or perhaps the Packers simply didn’t put enough talent around him. Either way, he isn’t the elite level talent he used to be. Total Pro Sports continued:
Rodgers left Sky Cave Retreats on Wednesday after he told “The Pat McAfee Show” he would spend four days in total darkness “to contemplate all things” and “make a decision that I feel like is best for me moving forward in the highest interest in my happiness.”
He and the Green Bay Packers have an important choice to make when it comes to the future of both the quarterback and the team. He could retire, return to the team, or demand a trade elsewhere.
If Rodgers stays in Green Bay, it’ll cost the team $59.465 million this season. If they trade him before June 1st, they would be on the hook for $40.3 million in 2023.
The most notable team hoping he demands a trade are the New York Jets who have been linked to him as well as Derek Carr, Jimmy Garoppolo, and Ryan Tannehill.
Rodgers has also indicated that he might decide to walk away. He has not yet spoken publicly since leaving the retreat.
Cave retreats, ayahuasca trips, haircuts making him look like Liam Neeson is going to fight him in Taken 4; Aaron Rodgers antics are wearing thin. Good for him if he is more in touch with himself and his happiness, but Packer fans just want the old Rodgers back, or to move on.
If Green Bay trades him and allows him to disappoint the Jets or another team they can have a significant cap saving, and they have been grooming Jordan Love for the starting job since the 2020 draft. If he comes back to Green Bay, its likely another year of wondering “what’s next”. Either way, Joy Taylor is right. Time to move on. The relationship has soured.
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