Aaron Rodgers has proven that he loves to be the center of attention during the offseason over the past year. Last year, he showed that when he teased a potential breakup with the Green Bay Packers for months. A move that eventually saw the organization give in to his demands of a revamped contract gave him more control over his future going into this offseason. Now the future Hall of Famer is at it again.
The league MVP started the ball rolling after the brutal loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the playoffs. Most people expected the offseason would be about two possible things for him. Either return to the Packers on some sort of contract extension or him being traded to another team. However, things changed when somebody offered retirement as a possible third option, and Rodgers didn’t immediately dismiss the idea.
It is easy to forget sometimes the man is 38-years old.
Still, most people aren’t ready to believe Rodgers will do something like that. Then he goes on Instagram with a weird post thanking anybody and everybody in his personal and professional life. It was a post about gratitude and all that, but it’s difficult not to feel like this might be the preliminary tease for retirement.
#Packers QB Aaron Rodgers just posted THIS on Instagram. pic.twitter.com/cDVYS6SnxJ
— Kyle Malzhan (@KyleMalzhan) February 22, 2022
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Accompanying that extensive statement was a series of pictures of Rodgers and various friends and teammates. One eagle-eyed Green Bay sports anchor has known the QB for years. She understands how cryptic the man can be with his messages. That is why one of the pictures caught her attention. A picture of his two favorite receivers, Davante Adams and Randall Cobb on the sideline. Usually, he is standing between them in those moments. Yet he chose a pic where he was absent. Maybe just a coincidence. Maybe something more.
The last picture in Aaron Rodgers’ Instagram post is this one. He is in every photo he posted except this one.
He normally stands between Cobb and Adams for the national anthem…
(This looks like the game he missed in KC)
Could mean something or nothing. Time will tell. pic.twitter.com/JFmpiWLcGT— Adriana Torres (@TorresAdrianaTV) February 22, 2022
Aaron Rodgers promised a decision either way soon
This isn’t likely to be something that drags out like last year. Truth be told? It is hard to accept the idea that he will retire. Rodgers is a competitor, and it’s highly doubtful he’d want the last image of his NFL career being a slow walk out of Lambeau Field after scoring 10 points. The far likelier scenario is he returns from another year. Especially with rumbling that Green Bay isn’t overly enthusiastic about turning the reins over to Jordan Love. This idea was reinforced by a tweet from Packers left tackle David Bakhtiari shortly after the Instagram posts went up.
— David Bakhtiari (@DavidBakhtiari) February 22, 2022
Green Bay has made it crystal clear they want him back.
Rumors persist they’re prepared to make him one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the league on a new extension. They even hired Tom Clements as quarterbacks coach to replace Luke Getsy, whom Aaron Rodgers has been fond of going back many years. He now controls the narrative. He can either walk away, leaving the Packers with nothing. Or he can play the hero, sticking around to keep the team in the contending picture. Given the ego involved here? The latter feels far more likely.