Aaron Rodgers proved what critics of the Green Bay Packers’ 2020 NFL Draft decisions thought all along.
Rodgers has delivered a season of the MVP caliber and is about to play in his fifth NFC championship game. In other words, he is far from defeated and ready to hand the reins over to rookie quarterback Jordan Love.
When the Packers recruited Love in the first round in April, Rodgers frankly admitted that he understood that this meant that a clock started at the end of his time in Green Bay and he might have to end his career elsewhere if he wanted to play beyond a certain age. .
Now? The future 37-year-old Hall of Fame is being questioned about a sense of urgency, considering that it is unknown how many chances he will have of winning a second Super Bowl ring. Drew Brees is expected to retire from the New Orleans Saints and win just one Super Bowl in a 20-year career that will leave him as the all-time leader in the NFL in passing yards.
“My future is a beautiful mystery, I think,” Rodgers said. “The gift is a gift to be able to stay in the moment and be grateful to be in this situation again, and to be with the crowd and have fans in our stadium and maybe snow in an NFC championship game. I will enjoy these moments for sure, and not worry about what will happen in the future. “
Rodgers led the Packers to a Super Bowl victory at the end of the 2010 season, but has been 0-3 in the NFC Championship Game since then, including a loss last season to the San Francisco 49ers. All three were on the road. This time, the Packers are slightly home favorites, but six-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady is leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the other side.
“A lot of people thought we wouldn’t be back here after last season,” said Rodgers. “We received a lot of interesting comments last year about being the worst 13-3 team that people have ever seen. This is not the same type of comment [year]. Obviously, we are clicking much better on the attack. I feel very grateful to be back here, grateful for the chance to be playing. “
It seems a little Zen, but Rodgers has taken the same approach since the revealing draft.
“I’m always trying to be there, especially this year, as much as anything, and enjoy the moments,” Rodgers said Wednesday. “I hope there are more opportunities, but I don’t know. I mean, I really don’t want to. These things are beyond my control. “