The Green Bay Packers are awaiting a decision from quarterback Aaron Rodgers concerning his NFL future.
The 39-year-old recently returned from his four-day darkness retreat, spilling the details on the “Aubrey Marcus Podcast.” Rodgers discussed his future, saying a decision would come “soon enough.”
Rodgers was the talk of the NFL Scouting Combine last week, according to Rich Eisen of NFL Network. Eisen revealed on his show Monday the scuttlebutt is that the Packers “sure hope” Rodgers moves on from the team.
“The Packers sure hope that Aaron Rodgers doesn’t want to come back,” Eisen said. “They sure hope that when he comes up with his decision it is ‘I wish to retire’ or ‘I wish to be traded elsewhere.’ They do not want his response to be ‘Let’s run it back.’
“When I say that I heard that over and over and over again, it’s just like ‘You have no idea what’s going on there.'”
Eisen’s report comes days after Adam Schefter of ESPN reported it was likely Rodgers would either retire or come back to play for the New York Jets.
“My sense is there continues to be more and more signs about him leaving Green Bay,” Schefter said Friday. “And I think in the end, my sense is ultimately it will come down to whether he wants to play elsewhere, which would be really the New York Jets, or whether he wants to retire. To me, those are the two most logical options and the two most likely scenarios here. But again, we have not heard from Aaron Rodgers himself.”
Packers Place Deadline on Aaron Rodgers to Make a Decision
The Packers owe Rodgers $110 million on the three-year, $150 million contract extension he signed with the team last offseason. He will earn a $58.3 million bonus if he plays next season. A soft deadline of March 15, the day free agency begins, exists for Rodgers to make a decision.
Should Rodgers retire or opt to play elsewhere, the Packers are prepared to hand over the reins to Jordan Love, their 2020 first-round pick.
“He definitely needs to play,” Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said last Tuesday. “I think that’s the next step in his progression. I think he’s ready for that. Not every quarterback comes into this league ready to go out there and play. I think he needed a little time, but over the last year and a half or so, we’ve seen that’s the next step in his progression. He needs to go out and play.”