Two weeks into training camp, Aaron Rodgers is looking as poised and accurate as ever on the practice field for the Green Bay Packers, making all the offseason noise about his potential NFL retirement seem almost laughable.
But it’s true. According to the man himself, the NFL nearly headed into a new season without its reigning MVP for the first time since the 1960s.
During his post-practice interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio on Wednesday, Rodgers touched upon how close he came to retiring from the NFL over the past several months and explained that his decision to return to Green Bay for the 2021 season only came together “about two days” before training camp began on July 27.
Rodgers had previously admitted that retirement was “definitely” something he thought about throughout the offseason as he and the Packers struggled to see eye-to-eye on several of his issues with the organization. And while he was abundantly clear on Wednesday that he is now “totally focused” on the Packers’ upcoming campaign, he also answered in the affirmative when asked if he had been “content” to walk away from his NFL career if the two sides hadn’t come together how they did.
Here’s what Rodgers said specifically:
I was. That’s a fun place to be in, you know? When you have passions outside of the game and you still feel like you can give 100% to the game. And that’s what — I didn’t want to cheat my teammates, the organization, myself, anybody counting on me, the fans by not being able to be all in, so it took me a lot of the offseason to wrap my head around what the season would look like. And I think it was important for me to remain in silence about a lot of things because of my love and appreciation for the organization, I didn’t want to get into a name-calling match in public. And I think, like I said, there is a lot of wisdom in silence. The way that my press conference played, I don’t think if I make the same comment in April or May or June (that) it resonates with people as much. But it was a contemplative offseason. Also, a really fun offseason, traveling and enjoying my time and doing the things that make me most happy, so I feel like I’m at peace coming back, totally focused on the season, all in with the guys and excited about 2021.
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Rodgers Won’t Host ‘Jeopardy!’
Whether Rodgers and the Packers have a future together beyond the 2021 season is something that remains to be seen, but there is one future path/career that is no longer in the cards for the three-time MVP: Being the host of “Jeopardy!”
On Wednesday, the popular game show announced that Mike Richards (an executive producer for “Jeopardy!” last season) will succeed the late and great Alex Trebek as the show’s daily host, while actress and neuroscientist Mayim Bialik (known best for her role in “The Big Bang Theory”) will host primetime and spinoff series. The announcement ends the monthslong search for Trebek’s replacement after numerous guest hosts, such as Ken Jennings and Rodgers, were considered contenders for the job.
Rodgers did a two-week stint as the guest host of “Jeopardy!” back in April and had previously won as a contestant on “Celebrity Jeopardy!” against Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary and astronaut Mark Kelly. He also expressed an interest in becoming the show’s permanent host, calling it a “dream job” and saying he felt he could balance hosting duties with his career as an NFL quarterback.
“I don’t think I’d need to give up football to do it,” Rodgers told The Ringer during his run as guest host. “They film 46 days a year. I worked 187 this year in Green Bay. That gives me, eh—[pauses]—178 days to do Jeopardy! So I feel like I could fit 46 into that 178 and make it work. It would be a dream job for sure, and I’m not shy at all about saying I want the job. That’s how I went into it. I want an opportunity to be in the mix.”
Hey, at least Rodgers has a career as a future Hall of Fame quarterback to fall back on.
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Aaron Rodgers Details How Close He Was to NFL Retirement