As the mystery about Aaron Rodgers’ future looms, NFL alums including Giants great Eli Manning are weighing in on his situation.
“It was important for me to finish my career with the Giants,” Manning, who spent his entire 16-season career in New York before retiring in January 2020, told ESPN.
“I would think it would be important for [Rodgers] as well, just because of the legacy that he has, the history of Green Bay, being there as long as he has been, winning a championship and winning MVPs.”
Rodgers has been a Packer since 2005, when Green Bay selected him with the 24th overall pick in the NFL Draft. He led Green Bay to a Super Bowl title in the 2010-11 season.
After the Packers were eliminated from the postseason by the 49ers in the divisional round, Rodgers said Tuesday on “The Pat McAfee Show,” that he will decide by the end of February or early March his plans for the 2022 season.
“It’s not always greener on the other side,” Manning said. “That’s what I had learned from talking to other people. You can go somewhere, and it’s not necessarily going to be better. It’s probably going to be worse.”
Rodgers, who turned 38 in December, has said he does not want to play for a rebuilding team. Packers star receiver Davante Adams is hitting free agency, which begins on March 16.
“If Aaron leaves, it’s probably going to be his own call. It’s going to be his decision, saying, ‘I want out of here,’” Manning said, recalling “last year” when Rodgers had a summer holdout due to frustrations with the culture and communication in Green Bay.
“I think it’s strange to want to leave someplace where you’ve been your whole life and to leave for the last two years or whatever it may be of your playing career,” Manning said. “Obviously, Tom [Brady] did it and he had success, but you want to make sure it’s the right spot. You can go somewhere and not be any good. I think with Tom, he had the chance to look around. And Peyton [Manning], they had free rein as free agents to decide, ‘This is the spot to go, this is a good team with a good defense and good receivers.’
“If it’s a trade, it’s a little bit different. A trade, you would not think would end real good for him. They’re not sending him to an NFC team, so that eliminates half the league.”
The reigning NFL MVP said he plans to “have conversations” in Green Bay, before he takes time away to reach a final decision about his playing future.
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