Aaron Rodgers: No Reason to Think I Won't Return to Packers Amid Trade Rumors

Green Bay Packers star Aaron Rodgers on Tuesday addressed comments he made Sunday following an NFC Championship Game loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, downplaying his uncertain future with the team.

Rodgers said after the game, "A lot of guys' futures, they're uncertain, myself included." On The Pat McAfee Show, he said, "I don't feel like I said anything that I hadn't said before."

"It was more a realization, I think, that ultimately my future is not necessarily in my control," he said. "... I don't think that there is any reason why I wouldn't be back. But there's not many absolutes, as you guys know, in this business."

Rodgers' sentiment reflected how Corey Linsley, Aaron Jones, Robert Tonyan, Jamaal Williams and Allen Lazard will be free agents this offseason. The Green Bay offense could look a lot different when the 2021 season kicks off.

However, Rodgers also seemed to underline how his dynamic with the team changed when the Packers moved up in the first round of the 2020 draft to select quarterback Jordan Love. Unlike other signal-callers in his age range, the 37-year-old Rodgers has given no indication he intends to retire any time soon.

The franchise could just have been proactively laying out a succession plan, but some wondered whether head coach Matt LaFleur was trying to move in a different strategic direction.

LaFleur on Sunday made it clear he wants Rodgers back. According to Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio, the nine-time Pro Bowler would like a new contract, which indicates he continues to see a path forward with Green Bay.