Aaron Rodgers fuels retirement speculation after Packers season-ending loss

Rumors have been rampant about a possible Aaron Rodgers retirement after this season and the aftermath of the Packers’ Week 18 loss will only fuel them.

There has been no shortage of discussions about what’s next for Aaron Rodgers as he heads into 2023. And that’s only going to get crazier after Sunday Night Football in Week 18 as the Green Bay Packers were eliminated from the playoffs with a loss to the rival Detroit Lions.

Rodgers couldn’t lead a comeback against Detroit and actually threw what an interception on what ended up being Green Bay’s final offensive drive of the season. But after the Lions ran out the clock, that’s when things got interesting regarding the future of the reigning back-to-back NFL MVP.

As he walked to the middle of the field to shake hands, Detroit rookie wide receiver Jameson Williams approached him and asked Rodgers to exchange jerseys. The future Hall-of-Famer responded by saying, “I’m gonna hold on to this one.”

Aaron Rodgers furthers retirement speculation after Packers Week 18 loss to Lions

Is he holding onto the jersey because it’s his final game with the Packers? Is he holding onto the jersey because it’s his final NFL game? Who can possibly say.

But if that wasn’t enough to fuel the rumor mill fires moving forward, Rodgers then walked off the field with longtime teammate and veteran receiver Randall Cobb in a very warm side embrace and asked for the cameras to get out of his way so he could have some sort of privacy in that moment.

We can’t possibly say what’s next for Aaron Rodgers. But for a player who has been speculated about regarding his future with the Packers and as an active player in the league, this certainly felt like some sort of goodbye.

And if it was that, then the question becomes this: What exactly was Aaron Rodgers saying goodbye to, the Packers or the NFL?