KEY POINTS

  • Aaron Rodgers rebuffs the Packers exit insinuations
  • Rodgers wants to remain as a Packer for the rest of his career
  • Packers top brass assures Rodgers is not going anywhere

For any athlete, it is only natural that they would utter some things following a big loss.

In the case of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, most took his post-game comments following their NFC loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a farewell note.

Rodgers was quoted as saying: “A lot of guy's futures, they’re uncertain, myself included... Just gonna have to take some time away and clear my head and kind of see what's going on with everything."

Reading between the lines, some would get the impression that was his way of hinting that he could be leaving or at least exploring the free-agent market.

Even at 37, Rodgers has proven to be competitive and could still be an asset for a year or two.

However, Rodgers appeared on The Pac McAfee Show recently and said he was surprised at the reactions to his comments. The Super Bowl XLV champion feels that his words were misconstrued.

"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... I don't think there's any reason I wouldn't be back," Rodgers explained.

Rodgers added that these comments were not much different from the usual disappointment that players would feel after a loss. He stressed that he was not implying anything.

"There are not many absolutes--as you guys know--in this business," he stated. "So to make an absolute statement about something that is not an absolute, I didn't do it. I guess that's why it kind of, went kind of nuts."

Aaron Rodgers Green Bay Packers
Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers leaves the field following the NFC Divisional Playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams at Lambeau Field on January 16, 2021 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Stacy Revere/Getty Images

Rodgers also noted that he wanted to be a Packer for life. He hints at sticking with only one team in his entire career similar to that of Kobe Bryant with the Los Angeles Lakers and Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees.

Putting a lid as well to NFL trade rumors tied to Rodgers was this response coming from Packers team president Mark Murphy.

"We're not idiots. Aaron Rodgers will be back, he's our leader," the team executive declared.

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