The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Green Bay Packers on Sunday afternoon to advance to the Super Bowl. It was not without controversy. At one point, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers had to be restrained from the refs after a particularly egregious call.
Following his team’s 31-26 loss, Rodgers sounded like a man who had just played his last game in Green Bay.
LIVE: Aaron Rodgers meets with the media following #TBvsGB 🎥 https://t.co/J2r4owTYLt
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) January 24, 2021
“I don’t know,” Rodgers replied, when pressed on his future.
“I really don’t know. There’s a lot of unknowns going into this offseason now. I’m gonna have to take some time away, for sure, and just clear my head and just kinda see what’s going on with everything.
“It’s pretty tough right now, especially thinking about the guys that may or may not be here next year. That makes the finality of it all kind of you hit you like a ton of bricks.”
Rodgers then alluded to the “finality” of what transpired.
“A lot of guys’ … futures are uncertain, myself included,” he said. “That’s what’s sad about it, getting this far … The uncertainties is tough, the finality of it all.”
Rodgers is technically still under contract with the Packers and will be until 2023. That said, the organization can save $6 million by getting rid of him this year. Beyond that, Rodgers himself has suggested that he didn’t envision retiring as a member of the Packers. He even suggested a divisional foe as a potential option.
Presuming Rodgers moves on, what are some potential landing spots for him? According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, six teams top the list.
Now we know what motivates Gronk to play so hard. https://t.co/xFnKnjoXQ4
— Game 7 (@game7__) January 24, 2021
“Top potential Aaron Rodgers destinations in 2021: [San Francisco] 49ers, [New England] Patriots, [Pittsburgh] Steelers, [Las Vegas] Raiders, [Indianapolis] Colts, [New Orleans] Saints,” he tweeted out.
As a former Bay Area guy, Rodgers would fit in nicely with a Niners group that desperately needs a real answer at quarterback. At this juncture, it is clear the Jimmy Garoppolo Era has come to an end.
If not San Francisco, a Rodgers-Bill Belichick pairing would be absolutely fascinating. Clearly Cam Newton is not a long-term solution for New England, and Rodgers is objectively a better quarterback now than Brady was for the last five years of his run with the Patriots.
Aaron Rodgers was held back from the ref after the Packers got cheated so that Tom Brady could make another Super Bowl. https://t.co/JKmylDFl3F
— Game 7 (@game7__) January 24, 2021
The Steelers are obviously a squad on the precipice of a championship run, and Rodgers could easily put them over the top.
Las Vegas is a perpetual contender for the league’s preeminent available star quarterbacks, despite having a very solid option in Derek Carr. Similarly, the Colts need a replacement for Philip Rivers and the Saints need one for Drew Brees, so their inclusions on this list make sense.
Rodgers’ discontent has been evident for a while now, and it will be interesting to see if that leads to him playing elsewhere come 2021-22.
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A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
