Aaron Rodgers won’t make same mistake as Brett Favre with retirement

As Aaron Rodgers still ponders a decision on his playing future, he says he doesn’t want to do what Brett Favre did back in 2008.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has a decision to make, and that is in regard to where he wants to play for the 2023 season, if at all. On Wednesday, Rodgers made an appearance on the Aubrey Marcus podcast, and fans who were hoping for an announcement, they didn’t get that. Rodgers spoke about his darkness retreat, but did say that he is making a football decision “soon enough.”

Speaking of the decision, Rodgers said that he doesn’t want to make the same mistake as former Packers quarterback Brett Favre did back in 2008 when he retired that March, only to declare in June that he actually wanted to play.

Aaron Rodgers looking to avoid Brett Favre’s decision-making blunder

“It’s best for anybody who has an interest in this to make a decision sooner rather than later,” said Rodgers. “I remember before Favre retired, there were times in April and May, we weren’t sure if he was going to come back because he didn’t come to any of the offseason program. Then in 2008, he actually did retire in March and then said, ‘No, no, no,’ in June after OTA’s, ‘I actually want to come back and play.’ That’s when he was traded to the Jets. There was obviously a lot of tension that summer. For everybody involved directly and indirectly, it’s best for a decision earlier.”

As Rodgers brings up, Favre announced his retirement from the NFL after the 2007 season, in which they lost to the New York Giants in the NFC Championship Game. But that July, Favre decided that he wanted to return to play. But, the Packers were ready to pivot to Rodgers, whom they selected in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft. That is when the trade happened, where Favre went from longtime Packers quarterback to starting signal caller for the New York Jets.

Rodgers did say that while he doesn’t want to take as long to make a decision, he is going to think it over, as he did during his darkness retreat, before making a final choice.

“I feel really good about the conversations that are going to be had, that have been had with important people in my life,” said Rodgers. “Yourself included. But I’m not looking for somebody to tell me what the answer is. All the answers are right inside me. I touch many of the feeling on both sides in the darkness. I’m thankful for that time. There’s a finality to the decision. I don’t make it lightly. I don’t want to drag anybody around. I’m answering questions about it because I got asked about it. I’m talking about it because it’s important to me. If you don’t like it and you think it’s drama, and you think I’m being a diva or whatever, then just tune it out. That’s fine. But this is my life. It’s important to me. I’ll make a decision soon enough and we’ll go down that road. I’ll be really excited about it.”

The NFL league year officially begins on March 15, and the free agency negotiation window opens on March 13. For teams that are in need of a quarterback, they will be waiting on Rodgers’ decision, since he will be the biggest domino to fall. If he is made available via a trade, he would be the top name on the quarterback market.

As for the Packers, they do have Jordan Love on the roster. They selected him out of Utah State in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft. With this move, it signaled that the team was ready to have a succession plan in place in case Rodgers were to move on. Not to mention, the Packers now have to decide by May 1 if they want to pick up his fifth-year option, as he is set to enter his fourth NFL season.

While it may seem like a long wait for Rodgers, he did say that he would not do what Favre did back in 2008.