Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers shot down the significance of his Instagram post from Monday night on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday, at least the significance of the post in terms of the impact on his future in football.
He said to take the post at face value: It signified nothing more than the personal reflection from an individual looking back at the last 12 months of life, and specifically who had an impact on his life over the last year.
“There’s nothing cryptic about gratitude,” Rodgers said.
Rodgers told McAfee that he hasn’t made a decision on his football future and was instead overwhelmed by gratitude after coming out of a body-cleanse treatment over the last two weeks.
“I was going through some old pictures from the last year and felt an intense amount of gratitude for the life I have and the lessons I’ve learned and the growth that’s happened over the last year and the people who’ve been a part of that journey,” Rodgers said.
Rodgers said he performed a panchakarma cleanse, which he believes provided a “re-centering” for himself to start the offseason and the sudden formation of gratitude for the people in his life.
“You know, I just came out of a 12-day cleanse, where you’re eating a specific diet and you’re going through these treatments every day, and you’re not really doing anything else,” Rodgers said. “You just kind of turn everything else off and so you’re not working out, you’re not straining or anything. It’s kind of a re-centering. It not only heals you physically, but I think it takes away the mental stress and then the spiritual part allows you to enjoy the meditations a little bit more. So, when I come out, my first thought is just intense gratitude for the people in my life.”
Rodgers’ Instagram post started with a quote: “Gratitude is the wine for the soul. Go on. Get drunk.”
It included photos from the past year, including a picture of himself with Shailene Woodley and several photos of teammates from the 2021 season.
Rodgers also explained the otherwise mysterious photo of Davante Adams and Randall Cobb together without him, which he said provided a highly emotional moment after he missed a game against the Kansas City Chiefs while dealing with COVID-19.
“Full transparency, when I got that message, I cried. When I got that photo from Randall and Davante, it brought tears to my eyes because that’s my guys standing before the game, right,” Rodgers said. “Randall’s always on my right, Tae’s on my left and I embrace with both of them after the anthem, and it’s a part of the pregame ritual but also just a statement about friendship and love and the connection that we have collectively and individually in our own friendships. They held space and an open spot for me the game I missed because of my positive COVID test, and that got me, man. And that’s one of my favorite photos from the year. It really is, because it just shows the love and how special each of those moments are, so that’s one of my all-time favorite photos, and the thought that went into doing that was deeply moving to me, especially with how crazy that week was. To get that photo after the game from them, it got me.”
Rodgers also gave credit to Woodley for his on-field success over the last two years. He won NFL MVP both seasons. The two were engaged last year.
“When you meet your person, life just changes and you can’t possibly not be changed being around those special people that we meet,” Rodges said.
Rodgers said he is still contemplating his future and isn’t yet sure of his plans for 2022. The 38-year-old quarterback said “it won’t be long” until he decides.
“Obviously, I want to feel certain about it, and when I do, I’ll make a decision and we’ll just move and move forward,” Rodgers said.
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