The 49ers didn’t just hand Aaron Rodgers another crushing playoff loss on Saturday, they may have ended his tenure in Green Bay.
“I don’t want to be part of a rebuild if I’m going to keep playing,” Rodgers said.
The Packers quarterback was non-committal about a return next season in his postgame presser after the 13-10 loss, saying that the direction of the organization will determine if he’s interested in staying.
“I’m still supercompetitive, still know I can play at a high level, so it’s going to be a tough decision,” Rodgers said during a 17-minute session with reporters after the game. “I have a lot of things to weigh in the coming weeks. But man, just so much gratitude for this city and this organization and such a long, long career here that I’m proud of and really thankful for all the men and women that work here, the men I’ve gotten to cross paths with, coaches and players over the years.”
The Packers are currently $44.8 million over the salary cap, meaning retaining all of their key pieces next season will prove difficult. That includes All-Pro receiver Devante Adams, who is about to hit free agency. Rodgers is under contract through 2023, but has an out this offseason. If he returns, it’s likely his deal would have to be restructured.
“There’s a lot of players whose futures are up in the air, so definitely will be interesting to see which way some of those decisions will go,” Rodgers said. “But I’ll have the conversations with Brian [Gutekunst] in the next week or so and get a little bit more clarity and think about my own future and how much longer I want to keep doing this.”
“But there are a lot of decisions to be made and key players … So many guys’ contracts are up or on the brink or salary-cap stuff, so lot of decisions to be made. I don’t want to be part of a rebuild if I’m going to keep playing, so a lot of decisions in the next couple months.”
