And so … it begins.
At the precise moment a frenetic, tumultuous and often spellbinding regular season ended on Sunday night, so started a new storyline that looks remarkably similar to an old one that we’ve seen so frequently before.
The magical, mystical Aaron Rodgers Offseason Saga is now officially underway — an epic adventure that will have twists, turns and a whole bunch of guesswork. It will probably end in much the same way it began, with the four-time MVP back in the uniform of the Green Bay Packers.
Rodgers is a showman, and whether that’s truly intentional or not doesn’t really matter. The things he does lend themselves to conjecture and speculation. The things he says are an exercise in reading between blurry lines and attempting to decipher whether his utterances are true-held philosophy or whether he’s dropping Easter-egg hints as to what’s going to happen.
What does Aaron Rodgers’ future look like?
FOX Sports NFL analyst Greg Jennings joins Colin Cowherd to discuss Aaron Rodgers’ future with the Packers.
“Is it time?” Rodgers mused on Sunday, after a 20-16 defeat at the hands of the Detroit Lions eliminated Green Bay from playoff contention, ending a four-game win streak that put fate in their own hands after a dismal start to the year.
“At some point, the carousel comes to a stop, and it’s time to get off, and I think you kind of know when that is. That’s what needs to be contemplated.”
As Rodgers contemplates, it is appropriate to indulge in some reflection of our own, centered on the reality that the Packers’ loss to the Lions was a multi-layered tale.
The Lions themselves were worthy heroes of it, despite narrowly missing the postseason, as a bold group of players and eminently likable head coach Dan Campbell capped off a 9-8 year that began 1-6. By the end of it they were playing at a level to match the best teams in the NFC and, frankly, the playoffs would be better off for their presence.
From afar, the Seattle Seahawks were grateful for their effort, with the Packers’ defeat putting Geno Smith and company into the bracket, having survived an overtime thriller themselves earlier in the day against the Rams.
As usual though, all chatter circles back to Rodgers.
As he declined to exchange jerseys with Lions rookie Jameson Williams, saying “I’ve got to hold onto this one,” then walked off with his arm around close friend Randall Cobb, retirement talk was fueled, even with a pay package worth more than $58 million guaranteed for next year.
Even Detroit was talking about him, there being no question that his barbs about “that team” earlier in the year provided bulletin board material. The Lions weren’t going to go quietly even when their own fate was sealed by Seattle’s victory.
Rodgers doesn’t present as the most sympathetic figure, and it wasn’t hard to find people delighted by him and the Packers missing out on the postseason, even though their elimination took away the juicy possibility of yet another Packers-San Francisco 49ers playoff clash.
Yet Rodgers has an irresistible story, and it’ll be followed, all the way until resolution comes. He could walk away and that would be the ultimate Aaron Rodgers move, to give up all that money just because he didn’t feel like it anymore, and perhaps spend the time on a global meditation tour instead.
Probably, you feel, he’ll return, but is that just because that’s what happened the past two years, when there was similar doubt sown following the last game?
As ever, his comments brought a mix of confusion and clarity.
After disappointment is sometimes when Rodgers is at his most philosophical, all love and gratitude and losing-is-part-of-life’s-wondrous-journey. And hugs.
“It is a little raw right now,” he told reporters. “I want to take the emotion out of it and have some conversations and see how I feel when some time has passed. I am not going to hold them hostage.”
“The competitive fire is always going to be there,” he added. “I don’t think that ever goes away. Sometimes it gets transferred, I think, to other things that might not ever fill that large void. But like I said, I feel good about what I’ve accomplished in this league and wouldn’t have any regrets walking away. But I got to see what it feels like once I get away from this.”
And then he talked about the beautiful moments, likened a football season to a kind of ceremony — of what sort was unclear — and ruminated on brotherhood and appreciation and life.
Who knows what will happen, but it is already set as one of the NFL’s most vibrant offseason talking points. Green Bay will hope for a quick answer because they’ve not had enough of a look at Jordan Love to truly know whether he is part of the future or even a viable trade piece.
Rodgers will work at his own pace. Guessing is fine; good luck in really trying to figure out what he’s going to do.
The only time he has put a real definitive timeline on how much longer he was play for, was eight years ago, when he was asked how long he had left, and merely said the number “eight.”
Did he mean eight years? Or eight seasons or eight more birthdays, all of which could mean different things?
With Aaron Rodgers, there’s always more mystery ahead.
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Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports and the author of the FOX Sports Insider newsletter. Follow him on Twitter @MRogersFOX and subscribe to the daily newsletter.
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