has emerged from his darkne s retreat, and he is coming closer and closer to making a play-or-retire decision for the 2023 NFL season. The ' star quarterback spoke on the record for the first time since the retreat, and he emphasized the importance of making his decision in the coming days. The start of the NFL's new league year is two weeks away, March 15, but teams can begin talking to free agent two days prior on March 13."For everybody involved directly and indirectly, it's best for a decision earlier," Rodgers said Wednesday on the "Aubrey Marcus Podcast." "I feel really good about the conversations that are going to be had, that have been had with important people in my life that help orient me... But I'm not looking for somebody to tell me what what the answer is. All the answers are right inside me. I touched many of the feelings on both sides of the darkne s. I'm thankful for that time. There's a finality to the decision. I don't make it lightly. I don't want to drag anybody around... I'll make a decision soon enough Orlando Cepeda Jersey and we'll go down that road. I'll be really excited about it."Another party who will also be really excited about Rodgers' making a final decision about his future is the Packers front office. General manager Brian Gutekunst spoke Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine about the urgency in needing to hear from Rodgers soon."He's a great player, Mel Ott Jersey but until we have those conversations, I think all options are on the table," Gutekunst Tuesday. "We need to have those conversations. We want what's best for the Green Bay Packers, what's best for him so we'll get to that coming up. Free agency's coming up here. That's an important part of what we're doing, so it'd be nice to have some answers before then, but until we have any conversations, we're still in a good spot." Rodgers made it sound like he will help the Packers gain some clarity into their quarterback situation prior to free agency given that he very clearly recalls the "tension" from Brett Favre's retirement decision saga."It's best for anybody who has an interest in this to make a decision sooner rather than later," Rodgers said. "I remember before Brett Favre retired, there were times in April and May, we weren't sure if he was going to come back because he didn't come to any of the offseason program. Then in 2008, he actually did retire in March and then said, 'No,no,no' in June after OTAs, 'I actually want to come back and play.' That's when he was traded to the . There was obviously a lot of tension that summer." Pick Six Newsletter Johnny Cueto Jersey Crafted By The Best NFL Experts Get the day's big stories + fun stuff you love like mock drafts, picks and power rankings. I agree to receive the "Pick Six Newsletter" and marketing communications, updates, special offers (including partner offers), and other information from CBS Sports and the Paramount family of companies. By pre sing sign up, I confirm that I have read and agree to the and acknowledge Paramount's . Please check the opt-in box to acknowledge that you would like to subscribe. Thanks for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox. Sorry! There was an error proce sing your subscription. Following a 2022 season in which the Packers mi sed the playoffs for the first time under head coach Matt LaFleur and Rodgers had a career-low in pa ser rating (91.8), he said he spent different parts of his darkne s retreat contemplating what life would look look like if he decided to retire and if he decided to continue being an NFL quarterback. "I spent parts of a couple of days what it would be like to retire and imagining what it would be like to continue to play," Rodgers said. "Instead Jeff Samardzija Jersey of trying so hard to be 'I'm not just a football player, what if I just embraced I am a football player?' And look how f---ing beautiful its impact on my life. When you've played as long as I have, I think there's something inside of us that wants to say 'I'm going to be totally fine when I'm done playing. I've got nothing left to prove. I've accomplished a ton in this sport, and I have. I don't need to play for anything other than the joy. I'm going to be fine in retirement. I've got a lot going on and a lot I could transition to.'"But sitting in the darkne s with your thoughts...a lot of fear and insecurity came with what retirement looks like that I hadn't really acknowledged or thought was there," Rodgers continued. "I thought 'I'm fine, I've got my foundation, philanthropic stuff I want to be a part of, busine s stuff I've been cultivating for years now, I have dreams outside the game, I want to travel, I want get body back and Brandon Belt Jersey not wake up hurting.' All these thoughts as a justification for retirement...there were some deep fears and insecurities with retirement that I had to trace back to childhood or back to college, or back to early days in the NFL, and I had to work though those moments, those insecurities as they came up. After five or six hours of sitting through all that, I came to sweetne s with the reality I was working through that day, which was retirement and what that would look like."The scary was retirement, and the unknown was going back and playing and what does that mean? Is that Green Bay or somewhere else? If that's somewhere else, what is it like being somewhere else?"Now it feels like there are two very beautiful options that both feel really nourishing and special." For Rodgers, it appears as Guteknust said Tuesday, that all options are on the table.
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