Tom Brady hopes Aaron Rodgers doesn’t join him in retirement

Former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Tom Brady doesn’t want to see his foe-turned-friend Aaron Rodgers retire from the Packers just yet.

Tom Brady is adjusting to life in retirement, but he doesn’t want company in that department just that from Packers QB Aaron Rodgers.

There’s no guarantee that Rodgers will be back in Green Bay next season, but for now he has several options. First, he could return to the Packers and ask them for one more year playing at Lambeau Field. Second, he would retire as a Packer having played for only one team in his entire career — a rare achievement these days. Or third, he could help coerce a trade to another franchise, perhaps the New York Jets or Las Vegas Raiders, both of which are rumored to be interested.

Tom Brady doesn’t think Packers QB Aaron Rodgers should retire

As for Brady, he just hopes it’s not that second option, as Rodgers still has something left to give should he choose.

“You know what, I hope he doesn’t retire,” Brady said on his podcast. “… I think the league needs good quarterbacks, and he’s one of the greats. So if he retires, it’ll be a sad day for the league.”

Considering Rodgers played most of the season injured, his accomplishments are actually pretty impressive. He nearly made the postseason with a broken thumb and young receiving corps. Imagine what he could do with the kind of talent the Jets or Raiders have at their disposal.

“Certainly from the standpoint of him leaving the game the way that he’s playing, he broke his thumb this year and still played tremendous(ly),” Brady said. “And you could see as he got healthy throughout the year how incredibly talented he is. So I hope the good players keep playing. That’s what my hope is. That’s what I tried to do. And now you hope that the next generation does that and I hope they have the tools necessary to do that. I was very fortunate to work with a guy, Alex (Guerrero), who is my best friend, a brother to me and taught me so much.”

Rodgers will announce his decision in the coming months — likely ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft — after taking some time away from the game.