Rodgers returns to Packers after considering retirement

WASHINGTON: Reigning NFL Most Valuable Player Aaron Rodgers said Wednesday he considered retirement before ending an off-season standoff with the Green Bay Packers and reporting for a 17th season.

The 37-year-old quarterback, who arrived Tuesday for Green Bay workouts, detailed an embattled relationship with club management as he sought greater input into personnel decisions and struck a deal that could see him depart after the 2021 campaign.

“It was a lot of things that transpired,” Rodgers said. “Started the conversation in February after the season ended and I just expressed my desire to be more involved in conversations that directly affected my job.

“I wanted to help the organization maybe learn from some of the mistakes in the past, about the way some of the outgoing veterans were treated and just the fact that we didn’t retain a number of players that I feel like were core players to our foundation, our locker room, high character guys.”

Rodgers said nothing changed from the Packers during the off-season as he pondered hanging up his helmet for good.

“It was definitely something I thought about,” Rodgers said. “I was really working on myself and my own mental state throughout the summer, at various points, deciding if I wanted to even keep playing.

“But the fire still burns and I wanted to be on the football team. We got some things figured out in the last few days and I’m here.”

Rodgers said he has more to give even after a season where he was considered the NFL’S top player.

“I feel like I can improve based on my own patterns and conditioning and it was a lot of growth,” he said.

“As I got back into my workouts, I just realized that I know I can still play and I want to play.”

Rodgers kept quiet about talks in the offseason.

“There is wisdom in silence,” Rodgers said. “I felt handling things behind closed doors was the right way to do it. Didn’t want to get into an argument in public with a team I really care about.”

Rodgers, who led the Packers to victory over Pittsburgh in the 2011 Super Bowl, was named NFL MVP in the 2011, 2014 and 2020 campaigns.