Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said Tuesday that he might move up his decision to coincide with the window for franchise tag tenders.
Rodgers originally said he’d decide about his future ahead of free agency, which begins March 16. On Tuesday, Rodgers intimated that he could announce his decision even sooner out of deference to teammate and two-time All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams.
Adams is a candidate to get hit with the tag. Adams has said publicly he wants to be the NFL’s highest-paid wide receiver and said last year there will be no hometown discount to stay in Green Bay.
Teams can begin tendering the tag as soon as Feb. 22. March 8 is the deadline.
“I’d like to be respectful of the organization,” Rodgers said on “The Pat McAfee Show.” “One decision that will be upcoming will be obviously Davante and his future with the team. There still is this thing called a franchise tag, which I don’t think ’17’ wants the franchise.
“I think that should be enough time to make a decision by then. I don’t want to put myself on a specific date, but I do want to be sensitive to Davante and many other guys who have decisions to make on their own futures,” he said.
The Packers are projected to be $44.8 million over the 2022 salary cap. To keep Rodgers, the Packers would need to sign him to a long-term extension. His cap charge in 2022 is $46 million.
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur made it very clear Monday that the team wants their 17-year veteran to return for 2022.
Rodgers said his decision will be steeped in “intuition and a lot of feel.”
“I think it’s just a trust that I’ll know exactly what to do,” Rodgers said on the show. “Once you make a decision, that’s the decision and you move forward. Until you get to that certainty, you don’t make a decision. There also is a timeframe for this because I understand that my decision does impact a number of other people’s decisions. I want to be very sensitive to that, so I’ll definitely make a decision sooner rather than later.”
–Field Level Media