Aaron Rodgers' pursuit of a second Super Bowl ring came to an end on Saturday night when the Green Bay Packers were eliminated by the San Francisco 49ers in their divisional round playoff. He now enters the offseason with uncertainty surrounding his future at Lambeau Field
Tuesday 25 January 2022 16:48, UK
Aaron Rodgers offseason obscurity, Aaron Rodgers Super Bowl forecasts, Aaron Rodgers MVP noise, Aaron Rodgers division sovereignty, Aaron Rodgers playoff heartache, 'what's next for Aaron Rodgers?' questions. Rinse, repeat.
The latter is upon us, Rodgers' quest for a second Super Bowl ring culminating in a 'more questions than answers' disaster movie as the Green Bay Packers were Deebo Samuel'd, Nick Bosa'd, DeMeco Ryans'd, Robbie Gould'd and special teams'd to gut-wrenching postseason demise.
It was roughly 4.08am Sunday morning in the UK when Gould's field goal split the posts at the death to send the Packers packing and the San Francisco 49ers to the NFC Championship Game with a 13-10 win in front of a despondent Lambeau faithful, at which moment blank articles opened and NFL media dared to re-scratch a familiar itch.
Indeed. What next for Aaron Rodgers?
"I didn't think we'd be talking about this after this game," he told reporters.
Predicament is premature for Rodgers and the Packers, who would have envisioned post-Super Bowl as 'earliest convenience' for talks over the former's future. A close but no cigar debrief was among their biggest fears, and here they are.
"I'm going to take some time and have conversations with folks around here, and then take some time away and make a decision, obviously before free agency or anything gets going on that front.
"It's fresh right now. A little shocking for sure. I was hoping to have a nice weekend for the NFC Championship, to enjoy the lead-up and then start contemplating some things, so I haven't even let the moment really sink in yet."
The game was perhaps symbolic of Packers' narrative in recent years, a steamrolling touchdown drive to open the game preceding six straight scoreless possessions, including a lost fumble and a blocked field goal, followed by three points when they needed seven late in the third and a blocked punt that San Francisco's Talanoa Hufanga returned for a touchdown to level the game with 4.41 left. Ominous promise ending in line-getting-over malfunction.
Matt LaFleur's side gave up 10 points overall on special teams, that and offensive splutters undoing the work of a Rashan Gary-inspired defense that had limited the Niners to four consecutive three-and-outs to start the game and just three points in eight drives until the touchdown.
While the manner of his conclusion was ugly, Rodgers' sombre exit from the field in suddenly-less fun snow was another near-epiphany of life without him for the Cheeseheads in attendance.
It means Rodgers' Packers have now coasted to three straight 13-win, NFC North-ruling seasons, two straight NFC Championship Games (2019, 2020) and two straight first-round byes as the No. 1 seed (2020, 2021) without reaching the Super Bowl.
Rodgers himself meanwhile became the first quarterback in NFL history to lose four postseason starts to a single opponent. With Saturday's result, his 11-year wait to get back to the big dance goes on. Now what?
Day one of last year's NFL Draft had seen the spotlight tilt elsewhere when it was reported Rodgers had informed people behind-the-scenes in Green Bay he did not intend on returning with the team ahead of the 2021 season.
The 38-year-old skipped the Packers' entire offseason programme before rejecting suggestions his discontent was related to the first-round selection of quarterback Jordan Love in 2020, instead citing frustration over his lack of a say in personnel decisions.
General manager Brian Gutekunst sought to appease his prized asset by trading for his former teammate and good friend Randall Cobb, his additional efforts since then having also gone down well with Rodgers, evidently.
"From the day I got back (last summer), I feel like there was earnest decisions on both sides to meet in the middle and communicate," Rodgers said after Saturday's loss. "I'm very thankful to be a part of the conversations I was a part of. I feel like my opinion mattered.
"To feel the even deeper and more meaningful support from him and him and [director of football operations] Russ [Ball] and [CEO] Mark [Murphy]. So that was definitely a special part of the season, to see that relationship grow. I think [he] put together a really nice team. A team that could have won the Super Bowl. And he deserves a lot of credit for some of the moves that he made."
So a tick in the 'stay' column, maybe? Maybe.
Rodgers agreed to a reworked contract in July that would void the 2023 season, meaning he could not be tagged beyond 2022 and would hit free agency were he to play out the next two years, the second of which he is due to enter in September.
Here comes the money, which tells you Rodgers is set to inflict a cap hit of $46m over his final year unless he signs a new extension. Sign an extension and the financial burden eases somewhat.
The Packers' problems lie with the fact they are projected to be almost $45m over the cap for 2022, with Rodgers' star catching machine and route-running nerd Davante Adams among five wide receivers due to become free agents alongside trusted tight end Robert Tonyan. Hello franchise tag candidate.
For Rodgers to be back, you sense everybody will need to be back, or almost everybody.
"I don't want to be part of a rebuild if I'm going to keep playing," said Rodgers on Saturday night. "So a lot of decisions in the next couple of months."
Everything was in place. Rodgers was on his way to a likely second successive MVP award behind an offensive line that survived high-profile injuries to key assets in Elgton Jenkins and David Bakhtiari, running backs Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon were wearing down and creating both up-the-gut and lateral stress for opponents out of the backfield, and Joe Barry's defense was top 10 despite missing Za'Darius Smith and Jaire Alexander for chunks of the season.
To fizzle out against a 49ers offense that had next to no joy is as bitter a pill as he has had to swallow. This wasn't about roster deficiencies or the situation, the Packers lost because they could not execute.
LaFleur got an impromptu live-action look at Jordan Love this season when he started in the absence of a COVID-stricken Rodgers in November's 13-7 loss to a then-hobbling Kansas City Chiefs offense. Steve Spagnuolo smelt blood, his all-out blitz attack amounting to evidence that 12's understudy was far from ready.
They want to keep Rodgers, no matter what it takes.
"Certainly we want him back here," said head coach LaFleur. "I think we'd be crazy to not want him back here. He's going to be the two-time MVP."
Amid uncertainty over his future last summer Rodgers supposedly whittled down his preferred destinations to Denver, Las Vegas and San Francisco, the Broncos looming as favourable and most likely contenders as they enter the offseason with around $45m in cap space and dangling a talent-rich offense in need of stardom under center.
But while Rodgers currently stares at a near-guaranteed red carpet to the playoffs in the NFC North, life in Mile High or Sin City comes with the caveat of, albeit not invincible, Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert-shaped hurdles. If you're asking where his best chance to win again is, it is probably still in Green Bay.
Rodgers has openly admitted he considered retirement in the past, but this doesn't have the feel of a man ready to hang up his cleats, not yet, not while the chance to win No. 2 is still well within the realms of possibility. Whether or not he has played his final Packers game looks the more pressing dilemma.
"I don't know. It's raw right now," he said. "But very proud of what I've been able to accomplish here. Thankful, deeply thankful for so many years here in the organisation and all the incredible teammates and coaches I've had over the years. That's part of the legacy, the friendships, and the memories on and off the field. But I'm still super competitive, still know I can play on a high level. So it's going to be a tough decision. A lot of things to weigh in the coming weeks."
He could play out one final year alongside a tagged Adams before the pair, perhaps together, turn to pastures new with a contender in-waiting, he could commit to a new multi-year deal taking him into his 40s, the Packers could trade him to recoup multiple high draft picks with the potential to soften the blow of the financial obstacles seemingly approaching, or he could call it a day.
Now, we wait.
The NFL playoffs continue this weekend when the Kansas City Chiefs host the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship game live on Sky Sports NFL from 8pm Sunday, followed immediately after by the San Francisco 49ers at the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship game at SoFi Stadium.
