Aaron Rodgers Understands Packers' Pick, But Notes He May End Career Elsewhere
In his first comments since the NFL draft, former Cal star Aaron Rodgers said he was not thrilled by the Packers’ selection of another quarterback in the first round, but he now understands it. Perhaps more significantly, though, Rodgers also said he now understands that he might not end his career with the Packers.
The Packers drafted quarterback Jordan Love with the 26 overall draft pick, moving up from the No. 30 slot to get the Utah State star.
Rodgers, Green Bay’s 36-year-old quarterback who is destined for the Hall of Fame, said all the right things while still being honest about his future in his comments on Friday, according to the story by SI.com.
So what was Rodgers’ reaction to the Packers’ selection of Love?
"The general reaction at first was surprise, like many people. Not going to say I was thrilled by the pick, necessarily,” Rodgers said, according to a tweet by Field Yates of ESPN. “But I understand the organization is not thinking just about the present, but the future and I respect that."
Rodgers expanded his thoughts when he was asked this by ESPN Packers reporter Rob Demovsky: “Hey, Aaron just wanted to circle back to something you said earlier. You said you were not necessarily thrilled with the pick. I’m just curious—is that because it was a quarterback who might one day replace you, or because you wanted a weapon to help put you guys over the edge?”
To which Rodgers answered . . :
“I think it was more the surprise of the pick based on my own feelings of wanting to play into my 40s and really the realization that it does change the controllables a little bit, because as much as feel confident in my abilities and what I can accomplish and what we can accomplish there are some new factors that are out of my control, and so my sincere desire to start and finish with the same organization, um, just as it has with many other players over the years, may not be a reality at this point. And as much as I understand the organization’s future outlook and wanting to make sure they’re thinking about the team now and down the line, and I respect that, at the same time, I still believe in myself and have a strong desire to play into my 40s, and I’m just not sure how all that works together at this point.”
Brett Favre had said several days ago, after speaking with Rodgers, he thought Rodgers would end his career with another team.
Rodgers won't be going anywhere this year or next, but at some point we may see Rodgers in a different uniform.
Despite his initial surprise at the selection of Love, Rodgers initiated contact with Love soon after the draft to welcome him to the Packers, according to ESPN’s Demovsky.
Love said Rodgers sounded like a nice guy.
Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53
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