Aaron Rodgers: No decision made over my future

Aaron Rodgers insisted he has not made a decision on his future despite a cryptic Instagram post on Monday that fuelled speculation around a potential exit from the Green Bay Packers.

Rodgers had the NFL universe abuzz again when he posted a thank you message to coaches, team-mates and ex-fiancee Shailene Woodley for the "last beautiful year".

However, speaking on The Pat McAfee Show, Rodgers quickly dismissed any notion that post was related to a potential decision regarding leaving the Packers or retiring from the sport altogether.

"There will be no news today. No decision on my future," the NFL MVP said.

"I just got out of a 12-day Panchakarma [a cleansing ritual]. It's a cleanse that originated in India. It's something I've done in the offseason. No decision.

"There's nothing cryptic about gratitude... I was going through some pictures from the last year and felt an intense amount of gratitude for the life that I have and the lessons I've learned."

Rodgers hinted his future may be linked to the Packers' ability to retain the services of his top receiver and soon to be unrestricted free agent Davante Adams.

Tuesday marked the first day on which teams could apply the franchise tag to a pending free agent, with Adams a potential candidate to receive the tag from Green Bay.

"There's this one specific guy who's like the best guy in the league at what he does, wears 17. You might've heard of him," Rodgers added while speaking about the tag.

Relations between Rodgers and the Packers certainly appear more amiable than they were when reports emerged before the start of the 2021 NFL Draft that he wished to part with Green Bay.

Speaking of a seemingly more harmonious relationship with the team, Rodgers said of his exit interviews after the Packers' playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers: "I would say the meetings were much different than they've been in the past, in a positive way, and that there were some real, honest conversations that I appreciated."

After reporting for training camp following a stand-off with the Packers, Rodgers' 2021 campaign was partly defined by controversy after a positive coronavirus test revealed previous misleading statements about his vaccination status, while his spread of misinformation regarding vaccines has unquestionably damaged his reputation.

On the field, he helped the Packers to an NFL-best 13-4 record in 2021, finishing the regular season with 37 passing touchdowns to just four interceptions, giving him the best touchdown to interception ratio in the NFL. Among quarterbacks with 200 passing attempts, only Justin Herbert (2.30) threw a lower percentage of pickable passes than Rodgers (2.36).

No quarterback delivered more throws that resulted in a first down than Rodgers, who did so on 40.1 per cent of his attempts, while he was second in passer rating on third down (112.2) behind Kyler Murray (118.5) among quarterbacks with at least 50 attempts in that situation.

That stellar level of performance saw him win the MVP award for a second successive year and the fourth time overall. However, his play in the regular season did not translate into the postseason, with the Packers going one and done as they suffered a 13-10 Divisional Round upset at the hands of the 49ers.

Since Rodgers led the Packers to glory in Super Bowl XLV at the end of the 2010 season, they have reached the Divisional Round of the playoffs eight times but have never returned to the Super Bowl. He has provided little clarity over whether he will be back for another run at it with the Packers, but Rodgers' latest comments point to a stay in Green Bay in 2022 being more likely than it appeared at the start of last season.