There are no absolutes in football, Aaron Rodgers would like you to know.
Chances are, the NFL world hasn't seen the last of Rodgers in a Packers uniform, but Rodgers' comments Tuesday on "The Pat McAfee Show" aren't helping ease the anxiety of some Green Bay fans hoping to see No. 12 again next season.
In a lengthy interview with McAfee, Rodgers elaborated on his comments after the NFC championship game, when he mentioned that his future with the Packers is "uncertain" at the moment:
"I don't feel like I said anything that I hadn't said before.. It was just more of a realization I think that ultimately my future is not necessarily in my control...
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 26, 2021
I don't think there's any reason I wouldn't be back"@AaronRodgers12 #PatMcAfeeShowLIVE pic.twitter.com/u1Qnjiugv6
It was more of a realization I think that ultimately my future is not necessarily in my control. That was what kind of hit me in the moment. I was thinking about Aaron Jones and Corey Linsley, other guys we have under contract, I don't know what their future is gonna be, myself included. Obviously, after the season that I had, potentially win an MVP, obviously we made another good run, I don't think there's any reason why I wouldn't be back. But there's not many absolutes, as you guys know, in this business. So to make an absolute statement about something that is not an absolute, I didn't do it, and I guess that's why it went kinda nuts.
MORE: Trade Aaron Rodgers? Not at all
Rodgers went on to reaffirm — several times — that there are "no absolutes in this business," and that the Packers' selection of quarterback Jordan Love in the 2020 NFL Draft made him come to that realization. He also said that the answer he gave in the moments after the 31-26 loss to the Buccaneers was as real as it gets, and not emotion talking.
Rodgers really skirted around the typical company line of, "Hell, yeah, I want to be a Packer again next year," and his honesty is admirable; honest answers from pro athletes are something Rodgers feels is lacking today, as he mentioned in the interview. Rodgers also claimed that career one-team guys such as Derek Jeter and Tim Duncan are a rarity in sports, but something he's dreamt of in his career. It's just not a lock.
Earlier on Jan. 26, Packers president/CEO Mike Murphy said that Rodgers would be back under center in 2021.
"There's no way in heck Aaron is not gonna be on the Packers," Murphy said Monday. "He's going to be the MVP of the league, might have had his best year ever, he's our unquestioned leader, and we're not idiots."
Really, all of this sounds like Rodgers is all but certain to don Green and Gold in 2021. But, as we know, there are "no absolutes in this business."
So, let the speculation run rampant.
