Aaron Rodgers (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)
GREEN BAY, Wis. - The NFL world is hanging on Aaron Rodgers’ every word as the four-time MVP contemplates his football future.
Rodgers has made it clear he is undecided on what comes next, whether he will return to the Green Bay Packers for his 19th season, ask for a trade, or retire as one of the greatest quarterbacks to play the game.
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst spoke to reporters on Tuesday at the NFL Combine, saying he’s hopeful the two sides are able to come to a decision on Rodgers’ future before the start of free agency, which will kick off on March 15.
On "The Aubrey Marcus Podcast" released Wednesday, Rodgers said he’ll make a decision in the near future.
"It’s best for anybody who has an interest in this to make a decision sooner rather than later," Rodgers told Marcus.
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The podcast appearance was the first for Rodgers since emerging from his four-day "darkness retreat," which the quarterback had stated was to "contemplate all things, my future, and then make a decision I feel like is best for me moving forward and the highest interest of my happiness."
Gutekunst told reporters on Tuesday that he and Rodgers have not connected this offseason beyond exchanging a few text messages.
"I feel really good about the conversations that are gonna be had, that have been had with important people in my life, yourself included, that helped to orient me," Rodgers continued. "But I'm not looking for somebody to tell me what the answer is. All the answers are right inside me. And I touched on many of them – and definitely the feelings on both sides – during the darkness, and I'm thankful for that time. There's a finality to the decision, and I don't make it lightly.
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"I don't want to drag anybody around. Look I'm answering questions about it because I got asked about it. I'm talking about it because it's important to me. If you don't like it, if you think it's drama, you think I'm being a diva or whatever, just tune it out. That's fine. But this is my life, it's important to me, and I'll make a decision soon enough, and then we'll go down that road and be really excited about it."
Rodgers threw 12 interceptions in 2022, the second-most of his career, as Green Bay failed to make the playoffs.