NFL

Aaron Rodgers considered retirement but 'the fire still burns'

By Sports Desk July 28, 2021

Aaron Rodgers considered retirement during his stand-off with the Green Bay Packers but said the "fire still burns" to play in the NFL.

Rodgers reported to training camp on Tuesday and was on the field for practice on Wednesday having brought his self-imposed exile to a close.

A report before the start of the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft in April revealed Rodgers had informed some within the Packers organisation of his desire not to return to the team.

However, the two sides found common ground and came to an agreement to ensure Rodgers will play for the Packers in 2021.

Speaking at a media conference, Rodgers revealed the saga stretched back to conversations he had with the franchise in February following the Packers' second successive NFC Championship Game loss in which he stated his desire to be involved in conversations about playing personnel.

There had been talk of Rodgers calling time on his NFL career and the reigning league MVP revealed that thought had crossed his mind.

Rodgers said: "It's [retirement] definitely something I thought about. I talked about how important being a full-timer was for a long time, this was the first time to spend the offseason away without a Covid year or a lockout year, and I enjoyed it, I really did.

"I took time working on myself and trying to better myself in a number of areas where I feel like I can improve based on my own patterns and conditioning and it was a lot of growth in that process by continuing to find joy and happiness in things off the field.

"However, there's still a big competitive hole in my body that I need to fill and, as I got back into my workouts, I just realised that I know I can still play and I want to still play and as long as I feel like I can give 100 per cent to the team then I should still play.

"I was really working on myself and my own mental state throughout the summer and at various points deciding if I wanted to even keep playing but the fire still burns and I wanted to be on a football team and we got some things figured out in the last few days and I'm here."

One move the Packers have made to seemingly satiate Rodgers is to bring back receiver Randall Cobb in a trade with the Houston Texans. Rodgers spoke of his excitement at the return of Cobb, who racked up 5,524 receiving yards and 41 touchdowns in eight seasons with Green Bay between 2011 and 2018.

And on a reported "list of concessions" made by Green Bay is the Packers' agreement "to review Rodgers' situation at the end of this season".

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported "the biggest concession" was "the freedom to decide where he wants to play in 2022".

But Rodgers said it is not his understanding he can choose where he wants to play next offseason and refused to make any declarative statements about being with the Packers past 2021.

He added: "I'm just going to focus on this year, there's a lot of moving pieces besides myself, expiring contracts for a number of guys, there's going to be a lot of tough decisions at the end of the year.

"I'm just going to enjoy this year and then revisit that conversation at the end of the season."

On the possibility of finishing his Hall of Fame career with the Packers, Rodgers said: "I'm definitely not closing the door on anything. I'm always optimistic in the ability to change. I'd never want anyone to give up on me."

Related items

  • Denis Compton to Victoria Pendleton – Louis Rees-Zammit joins multi-sport stars Denis Compton to Victoria Pendleton – Louis Rees-Zammit joins multi-sport stars

    Former Wales and British and Irish Lions wing Louis Rees-Zammit is reportedly set to join reigning Super Bowl champions the Kansas City Chiefs.

    The 23-year-old stunned the world of rugby in January by quitting the sport in an attempt to secure a contract with an NFL team in 2024, and his dream could soon come true.

    Here, the PA news agency looks at some other multi-talented sports stars.

    Denis Compton (cricket and football)

    Compton played 75 Test matches for England, making his debut in 1937 aged 19 and scoring his first century the following year against Don Bradman’s touring Australian side.

    He had made his Arsenal debut in 1936 and went on to win the league title in 1948 and FA Cup in 1950 with the Gunners, the same year in which he helped Middlesex win the County Championship.

    Babe Didrikson Zaharias (athletics, golf)

    Zaharias also excelled at basketball and baseball, but initially made her name in track and field, winning two gold medals and one silver in the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles.

    Zaharias won the javelin comfortably, took the 80 metres hurdles in a world-record time and finished equal first in the high jump before losing the title when her technique was deemed illegal.

    A latecomer to golf, she won more than 50 titles, including the US Women’s Open three times, and co-founded the LPGA.

    Lottie Dod (tennis, golf, archery)

    Lottie Dod remains Wimbledon’s youngest women’s singles champion, winning the first of her five titles at just 15 years and 285 days old in 1887.

    Later turning her attention to golf, she won the 1904 British Ladies Amateur title and four years later won a silver medal in archery at the Olympic Games in London, where her brother Willy claimed gold in the men’s event.

    Jim Thorpe (athletics, American football, baseball, basketball)

    The first Native American to win gold for the United States in the Olympics, Thorpe won both the pentathlon and decathlon in Stockholm in 1912.

    He lost his titles after it emerged he had previously been paid for playing semi-professional baseball, but they were eventually reinstated by the International Olympic Committee.

    Thorpe played six seasons in Major League Baseball and for six NFL teams, as well as enjoying a less-well documented spell in professional basketball.

    Victoria Pendleton (cycling and horse racing)

    Two-time Olympic champion track cyclist Victoria Pendleton announced in March 2015 that she had set her sights on riding in the following year’s Cheltenham Festival.

    She made her competitive debut in August 2015 and won her first race, on March 2, 2016, on 5-4 favourite Pacha Du Polder at Wincanton.

    Pendleton then achieved her stated aim of riding in the Foxhunter Chase at Cheltenham and finished fifth, describing the result as “probably the greatest achievement of my life”.

  • Louis Rees-Zammit reportedly signs for Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs Louis Rees-Zammit reportedly signs for Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs

    Former Wales rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit has signed for Super Bowl champions the Kansas City Chiefs, according to a report in the United States.

    Rees-Zammit is set to join the Chiefs’ practice squad, having impressed during his time on the NFL’s international player pathway.

    The 23-year-old’s signing is expected to be confirmed on Friday, with running back and wide receiver his designated positions.

    The move comes after he visited several NFL franchises, including the New York Jets, Cleveland Browns and Denver Broncos.

    Rees-Zammit’s next goal is to win a place on the Chiefs’ final roster for the new season, joining their star players Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce in targeting a third-successive Super Bowl.

    The Gloucester, Wales and Lions wing stunned the world of rugby in January by quitting the sport in an attempt to secure a contract with an NFL team in 2024.

    That dream moved a step closer when he impressed during last week’s pro day that forms part of the international player pathway.

    Rees-Zammit clocked 4.43 seconds in his 40-yard dash, a 9ft 7in broad jump and 29-inch vertical jump.

  • Panthers sign veteran pass-rusher Clowney Panthers sign veteran pass-rusher Clowney

    After tallying the fewest sacks in the NFL in 2023, the Carolina Panthers have upgraded their pass rush.

    The Panthers signed Jadeveon Clowney to a two-year, $20million deal with a max value of $24million on Wednesday.

    The top overall pick of the 2014 NFL draft, Clowney has bounced around from team to team the past few seasons as it looked like his best years were behind him.

    The 31-year-old, however, is coming off a resurgent 2023.

    Playing in all 17 games last season for the Baltimore Ravens, Clowney racked up 9 1/2 sacks - matching his career high from 2017.

    He also registered 19 quarterback hits and 79 QB pressures - tied for seventh most in the NFL.

    He joins a Carolina team that had a league-low 27 sacks last season and had the NFL's worst record at 2-15.

    Clowney, who grew up about 20 minutes from the Panthers' home stadium, spent his first five pro seasons with the Houston Texans before spending the last five seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns and Ravens.

    From 2019-2022 in his first four seasons since leaving Houston, he totaled just 14 sacks.

    In 126 career games, he has 52 1/2 sacks, 128 QB hits and 15 forced fumbles.

     

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.