Aaron Rodgers gave himself some time to do nothing but think, and it sounds like a decision about his football future is imminent.
The next steps for Rodgers in the NFL were immediately called into question after the Packers' Week 18 home loss, which prevented Green Bay from qualifying for the playoffs. Not long after, the four-time league MVP revealed he was going to complete a multi-day "darkness retreat," a process he was confident would help him gain clarity on what to do next in his career.
Rodgers removed himself from isolation last week and made his first public comments since wrapping up the retreat on the latest episode of the "Aubrey Marcus Podcast." Although the 39-year-old didn't offer any hints about what he plans to do, he did indicate the sports world won't have to wait much longer for his decision.
"I feel really good about the conversations that are going to be had, that have been had with important people in my life. Yourself included," Rodgers told Marcus, as transcribed by GoLongTD.com's Tyler Dunne. "But I'm not looking for somebody to tell me what the answer is. All the answers are right inside me. I touched many of the feelings on both sides in the darkness. I'm thankful for that time.
"There's a finality to the decision. I don't make it lightly. I don't want to drag anybody around. I'm answering questions about it because I got asked about it. I'm talking about it because it's important to me. If you don't like it and you think it's drama, and you think I'm being a diva or whatever, then just tune it out. That's fine. But this is my life. It's important to me. I'lI make a decision soon enough and we'll go down that road. I'll be really excited about it."
Rodgers has three options to choose from: retire, return to the Packers or ask for a trade out of Green Bay. If he wants to leave the organization that drafted him back in 2005, he figures to have a robust market.
