Aaron Rodgers entered the darkness 90 percent retired.
He emerged with his intention wanting to play for the New York Jets.
Two years later, the 41-year-old Rodgers has another decision to make. Of course, so do the next head coach and general manager of the Jets. Even as his body breaks down, Rodgers is still an effective thrower of the football. He hasn’t entered his late-stage twilight of being unplayable just quite yet, but whether he wants to flirt with that possibility is anyone’s guess.
But if you watched his interview with Fox’s Pam Oliver following New York’s 32-20 win over the Miami Dolphins in Week 18, you’d have to think that Rodgers is a man contemplating his NFL future — again. After a 23-of-36 performance in which he threw for 274 yards with four touchdowns against an interception, Rodgers had a moment similar to him walking off the field at Lambeau Field with Randall Cobb, with their arms braced around each other.
This time around, Rodgers wrapped his arms around a media member — NFL on Fox sideline reporter Pam Oliver. And with him being in the AFC East with the Jets, he doesn’t have as many games on the network anymore as he did with the Green Bay Packers.
And with his future hanging in the balance, this could’ve been the last time he met with Oliver professionally after a game in which he won.
“[It] didn’t start off the right way; it was special,” Rodgers said when asked about what finishing the season off on a high note meant to him. “You know, anytime you get to go on the field, do something you’ve been loving since you’re a kid — it’s special. Thankful for the ability to be healthy out there. Thankful for the guys I come to work with every single day; they make it a lot of fun.
“Disappointing season for sure, but it’s a fun way to end the night.”
Oliver would’ve been remiss if she didn’t ask the Jets quarterback about his immediate future.
“I’m not going to hold anyone up,” he replied. “I’m gonna have conversations tomorrow with everybody here the Jets and see what they’re thinking, and then we’ll make a decision before it gets too late in the offseason.”
Whatever Rodgers decides to do, Oliver wishes him all the best.
“I love you, Pam,” he said.
“Love you back,” she replied.
Rodgers’ words were filled with a sense of uncertainty as his future in the NFL is once again hanging in the balance.
As he shared a poignant moment with Oliver, it felt like a subtle acknowledgment that, whether it’s his last goodbye or just another pause, the road ahead is unknown yet again.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.