All great things eventually come to an end, and that includes Aaron Rodgers' career.
His season with the Green Bay Packers didn't finish the way he expected, dropping the ball against the San Francisco 49ers at home and missing the chance to win his second Vince Lombardi trophy.
Moreover, even though he led the NFL MVP race for most of the season, now it seems like Rodgers is considering either leaving the Packers or just walking away from the game and retiring.
Rodgers recently admitted that he was shocked by the loss and never thought he'd be talking about retirement at this point in the year.
Now, he'll take some time to assess his future in the league:
"I did not think we'd be talking about this after this game," Rodgers said after the loss. "I'm going to take some time and have conversations with the folks around here and then take some time away and make a decision, obviously before free agency or anything kind of gets going on that front."
Rodgers also gave a sense that he'll take a 'wait and see' approach to assess how the Packers approach the offseason, as he has no interest in playing for a rebuilding team:
"There's a lot of decisions to be made," the QB added. "There's a lot of players whose futures are up in the air. Definitely will be interesting to see which way some of those decisions go. But I'll have conversations with [GM Brian Gutekunst] the next week or so and get a little more clarity and think about my own future and how much longer I want to keep doing this."
Packers Head Coach Matt LaFleur confirmed he's been in touch with Rodgers and that they had a lengthy conversation.
And, while he didn't reveal the content of those talks, he did say that he wants him to be back with the team next season:
“I sat down and talked to Aaron today for quite some time. I think we’re all a little numb to the situation right now,” LaFleur said in his press conference. “But we’re hopeful that he’ll be back next year, obviously."
LaFleur added that he and the team will respect his decision and give him the time and space he needs to make up his mind:
“I mean, this guy has done so much for such a long period of time for this organization, for this city, for this team," LaFleur explained. "And so, I want to be respectful of his process — whatever he needs to go through to make the best decision for himself. And certainly, we would love for him to be a Packer and be a Packer until the day he decides to retire.”
This could be the end of an era at Lambeau Field, and the first of many tough years to come for one of the most storied franchises in the world.
