Getty Star quarterback Aaron Rodgers envisions a much longer career with the Green Bay Packers
Fear not, Green Bay Packers fans. Aaron Rodgers has no plans to end his playing career anytime soon after last week’s news of Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck retiring at age 29 shook the NFL to its core.
But the Packers two-time MVP does have an ideal endgame in mind for when retirement does finally come for him.
Rodgers said Friday on The Rich Eisen Show his idea of a perfect finish would be to “win the Super Bowl at age 45 and ride off into the sunset.”
0:07 / 12:55 Aaron Rodgers Talks Packers Offense, Andrew Luck, GoT & More w/Rich Eisen | Full Interview | 8/30/19 t.co/l6ifCmMofr
“I envision playing as long as my body feels good and I continue to have passion and love for the game that I do right now that still fuels me and is still a passion,” continued Rodgers, who won’t turn 45 for just shy of another decade. “And I still love the daily grind and the practice and the preparation. If I can give everything to a team in that manner and my body feels good, I’m going to keep on rolling.”
Rodgers was defensive of Luck’s decision to step away from the game when news broke that health reasons were the deciders of his surprise retirement, partly because he said he knows what missing time with injuries can do to a player’s mentality.
Rodgers played most of the 2018 season on a sprained knee and fractured leg bone as the Packers kidding to a 6-9-1 record behind the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings in the NFC North. The Packers won the division in 2016 as well as four seasons straight from 2011-14 under Rodgers — who claimed league MVP honors in the first and last year of that stretch.
Rodgers also missed a bulk of the 2017 season after fracturing his right collarbone.
As far as now, though, Rodgers is healthy and ready to lead the Packers for the 2019 season after decidedly not playing a snap of the preseason. Back tightness flared up and benched Rodgers just before the second exhibition in Baltimore, holding him out of a practice as well, but the Packers star quarterback said he feels ready to go Week 1 against the Chicago Bears.
The ‘Stache is Gone
Rodgers also broke some “dreadful” lifestyle news Friday’s radio appearance when he announced he shaved off his glorious mustache that had captured attention throughout the preseason.
He rolled into Winnipeg ahead of the Packers’ third exhibition game against the Oakland Raiders sporting a “Canadian tuxedo” as an ode to Sam Elliott, while the preseason finale saw Rodgers and some of his teammates assumed the personas of characters from “Happy Gilmore.”
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Side-by-side: #Packers QBs as Happy Gilmore characters 📸: t.co/cOq38hi3gg
@AaronRodgers12 ✖️ Hal L.
But as Rodgers told Eisen, the facial hair is gone heading into the regular season.
“It’s gone,” Rodgers said when Eisen asked about it. “Shaved it off last night.”
“It was just getting the way. Too much getting in the mustache. Time to move on to a new look,” Rodgers continued. “Some of the guys were giving me crap about it — probably 50/50 compliments to crap — but time to move on.”
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