NFL Insider: Packers Won't 'Kiss the Ring' of Aaron Rodgers amid Rumors on Future

The Green Bay Packers reportedly aren't interested in only playing by Aaron Rodgers' rules and on his timeline this offseason.

"No longer does it feel like the Packers are simply going to kiss the ring of Aaron Rodgers and say, 'We need you back. We gotta have you back,'" ESPN's Jeff Darlington said on Wednesday's episode of Get Up. "It is no longer that tone. It is, 'If you want to be a part of this organization, you need to call us, you need to commit, you need to show us that that is going to be the case.'"

Notably, Darlington called that shift "problematic if, in fact, you do want Aaron Rodgers back" because of the egos involved.

For his part, Rodgers suggested on the Aubrey Marcus Podcast that his decision will come in the near future.

Tyler Dunne of Go Long shared the quarterback's comments in which he referenced the uncertainty around the team when Brett Favre came back after retiring and said, "I'll make a decision soon enough, and we'll go down that road. I'll be really excited about it."

The comments came after the future Hall of Famer completed a darkness retreat to help him focus on himself.

Xuan Thai of ESPN reported "the 300-square-foot room in which Rodgers spent his time is a partially underground structure devoid of light, with a queen bed, a bathroom and a meditation-like mat. It is fully powered, and the lights can be turned on from inside the room."

At this point, speculation about Rodgers' future has become an annual tradition dating back multiple years.

He has always returned to the only NFL team he has ever known and won back-to-back MVPs in the 2020 and 2021 campaigns. Yet he is also 39 years old and coming off a down season relative to the recent past.

Green Bay missed the playoffs in 2022 while Rodgers threw for 3,695 yards, 26 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. It was a dropoff after he threw for 4,115 yards, 37 touchdowns and four picks the previous year and an NFL-best 48 touchdowns in 2020.

Then there is Jordan Love, who the Packers selected with a first-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft and has not had the chance for meaningful and consistent playing time in his first three seasons because of Rodgers.

Green Bay still doesn't know for sure whether he can be a franchise quarterback who thrives as the primary starter, and moving on from Rodgers this offseason would give it a chance to evaluate Love in that role in 2023.