“I do not care” - Stephen A. Smith done caring about Aaron Rodgers retirement talk
Aaron Rodgers poured a gallon of gasoline on rumors of him retiring from the NFL Monday with a cryptic Instagram post that sent the sports world into a frenzy.
The reigning league MVP's Instagram post thanked many of his teammates and coaches for making his time in Green Bay memorable. Because he never confirmed or denied anything about his future, interpretations of his post began multiple lives of their own.
Stephen A. Smith spoke about Aaron Rodgers on First Take Tuesday and was blatantly fed up with having to discuss him. He said he doesn't care about this story, saying,
“Number one, it sounds like a goodbye. Number three. I think it's incredibly important that I say this. I do not care. Not even a little bit. Aaron Rogers is a phenomenal, phenomenal quarterback. We know how I feel about him. He's a bad man. We know all the things that I have said. But the last time I saw him, he came up conspicuously short, in an NFC divisional playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers team led by Jimmy Garoppolo. I don't care about inclement weather. It was on your own turf, with all of your weapons, and all of the pieces that you had in place. And you came up short for the 11th consecutive season.”
Aaron Rodgers' failures in the postseason have been highly scrutinized and criticized, especially since losing in the divisional round this season. Smith has been a long-time fan of Rodgers but has run out of excuses for him.
With all the accolades Aaron Rodgers has had in the regular season, his postseason failures outweigh them. Smith noted this, adding to his statement by saying,
“Let's think about that for a second. We're talking about a multi-time MVP, the reigning two-time league MVP. Aaron Rodgers won the MVP last week or so. Nobody particularly cared, I mean, outside of the ceremony at the NFL. You know, what they celebrated before the Super Bowl, we didn't really care. Because when you're that great, there is more expectations that come with it. And the reality of the situation is that he's come up short."
Smith ended his statement with thoughts on the talents of the four-time NFL MVP:
"And it doesn't take anything away from his greatness as a talent. Because I think that as a talent, particularly when you take into consideration longevity, there has not been a more talented quarterback in the history of football than Aaron Rogers. But that also means that it's incredibly glaring that you only have one super bowl to show for it. And not even a single Super Bowl appearance in the last 11 years.”
Aaron Rodgers's retirement decision could come Tuesday
The wait for Aaron Rodgers' decision on retirement could come within hours of this article being published.
The 38-year-old is scheduled to appear on the Pat McAfee Show, where he could likely make his announcement on a platform he's grown comfortable speaking on over the last year.
Rodgers said after accepting his NFL MVP award at the NFL Honors that he wouldn't drag out making his decision.
So let's recap:
- A 'thankful' iG post to the Packers from Aaron Rodgers tonight.
- A Rodgers interview on Pat McAfee show tomorrow.
- Packers announce GM Brian Gutekunst will have a press conference on Wednesday.
Yeah. The Aaron Rodgers decision is, um, coming NOW.
In an offseason that saw Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger retire, the thought of the Green Bay Packers quarterback joining them is a startling one.
That said, there's always the possibility Rodgers will announce that he's requesting a trade rather than retiring. But his Instagram post certainly made it feel like a goodbye post.
#Packers QB Aaron Rodgers just posted this lengthy message on Instagram and included 10 photos. https://t.co/PFe4HGLd3Z
The end to the NFL's biggest storyline could be here at any moment.