Aaron Rodgers fuels retirement talk by REFUSING to swap his jersey with Jameson Williams after 20-16 loss eliminates Packers from playoffs, saying: ‘I gotta hold on to this one’
Following the loss, Aaron Rodgers declined to give the Lions WR his worn jersey
Postgame, he said it did not mean that he was likely to retire from pro football
Though Rodgers did admit he needs to take time to decide what is next for him
The reigning back-to-back MVP revealed he’ll have no regrets should he retire
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Aaron Rodgers has fueled talk of his retirement from pro football after refusing to swap his shirt with Jameson Williams after Detroit Lions beat Green Bay Packers 20-16 to eliminate them from the playoffs.
Postgame the reigning back-to-back MVP admitted he’s unsure about his future and needs to take time ‘figure out what is best.’ If this were to be his final game in the NFL, Rodgers revealed he ‘would have no regrets.’
Williams was caught on camera postgame asking the quarterback if he can have his jersey, to which the 39-year-old Packers quarterback said: ‘I gotta hold on to this one.’
Many fans felt there was only one reason why Rodgers would keep the jersey after a brutal loss. Though Rodgers himself remained coy as to whether that was a logical conclusion to draw.
‘I think I might have told him I’d give him a jersey when we played in Detroit but there are some special ones I’d like to keep. It was nothing against Jameson,’ Rodgers said postgame.
‘I want to keep this one. It’s a night game, Lambeau, Week 18, there are certain jerseys you like holding on to. Big Sunday night game, a little bit different. It’s not keeping it [forever] it’s about maybe a cool thing to give someone else.’
Rodgers was assertive postgame that he will not hold the Packers ‘hostage’ if he does decide he wants out, as speculation beings to heighten after yet another end of season failure.
The 39-year-old did give some thought to his NFL future, and the potential for a move to a franchise outside of Wisconsin, when discussing his immediate feelings after the crushing loss.
‘I mean it’s a little raw right now,’ he said. ‘It’s a little bit out of the game I want to take the emotion out of it, have conversations and see where the organization is at.
‘I’m not gonna hold them hostage, I understand we are still in January here, March is free agency. I just need some time to get the emotion out of it and figure out what is best. There has got to be mutual, on both sides.
‘The competitive fire is always going to be there, I don’t think that is ever going away. Sometimes it gets transferred to other things. But I wouldn’t have any regrets walking away. I’ve got to see what it feels like when I get away from this.’
Rodgers walked off the field at Titletown with his good friend Cobb after a disappointing loss
As for whether the one-time Super Bowl winner would consider a move to another franchise?
‘I don’t know,’ Rodgers admitted. ‘I don’t like saying never but I’ve got to see how I am feeling first, once the emption is out of it. Have the right conversations and see what the best direction is.
‘I have a lot of pride in what I have accomplished in this league. I obviously didn’t get it done tonight. You don’t want to lose your last game and miss out on the playoffs but this is a great profession, a really tough business and it doesn’t always end in rainbows for people.’
‘Do I feel like I have anything left to prove to myself? Do I want to gear up for another grind? Or is it time to step away? Is it time for another voice to lead this team? I have a lot of pride in what I’ve accomplished in this league but I’m a realist.
