The Green Bay Packers saw their 2015-16 NFL season end even before the regular games started when Aaron Rodgers lost Jordy Nelson to an offseason match. With the football team's best wide receiver out of the roster for an entire season, the group struggled to keep themselves amid the surge of squads like the New England Patriots, Denver Broncos, Carolina Panthers and Minnesota Vikings. However, it looks like the next NFL season will be pivotal for the Green Bay Packers as the group will see a healthier Aaron Rodgers, thinner Eddie Lacy and healed Jordy Nelson.
While this is good news, it appears that the 2016-17 NFL season might mark a heartbreaking news for the Green Bay Packers. After spending more than a decade with the football squad, reports are rife that Aaron Rodgers will be hanging his cleats once the upcoming season is over. Playing alongside good friends Eddie Lacy and Jordy Nelson one last time, the quarterback aims to reportedly quit while he is still young enough to venture on other fields.
"I just want to continue to learn," shared Rodgers when asked of his plans after his NFL is over. The Green Bay Packers star added, "I have plenty of charitable endeavors that'll keep me busy and plenty of business ventures that'll keep me busy, but I'm going to have to find a way to fill that competitive void when [football] is done, and I don't think it's going to be playing in an over-35 basketball league or making a run at the Senior Tour, which every golfer believes they can do. Let me tell you: That can't happen, not for guys like me."
Rodgers further explained of his retirement plans, "It's going to have to be something that involves competing, even if it's putting together special projects and trying to make impactful films, or doing some amazing charity work that impacts the world on a bigger scale. I think it'd be a lot of fun to fill those competitive voids."
Does this mean that the NFL will see the end of the Aaron Rodgers era in the Green Bay Packers? Should they start looking for a new quarterback to build their team around? Will Jordy Nelson follow suit? What does it mean for Eddie Lacy?
The answers are simple. The Green Bay Packers have no cause for worry just yet. While he is keen in delving into the next chapter of his life, especially with girlfriend Olivia Munn, Rodgers also assured fans that he will not be retiring anytime soon.
"I'm turning 33 in December, and I feel like I'm playing my best football and have been for a number of years now," revealed said Rodgers. He went on to say, "I don't think there's an end in the near future to me playing at a really high level. Obviously, you want to go out on your own terms, you want to go out as a champion, but that only happens for a select few. The last thing you want to do is go out and not be able to play worth a damn. It's finding that sweet spot where you're still playing at a high level and you can go out as a champion."
To further demonstrate his desire to play longer - possible longer than Peyton Manning and Tom Brady - Rodgers shared that he decided to follow a "more vegan" meal plan. While he still plans to include a bit of red meat and chicken in his diet, the Green Bay Packers quarterback shared that his meals will be "mostly vegetables." According to Rodgers, the move is to secure that he gets "healthier" especially in light of his knee surgery in January.
"I've done a lot of research and talked with Adam Korzun, our [team] nutritionist," shared Rodgers of his change in diet. He added, "[S]ome other friends around the league about how I can extend my career and how I can be and feel healthier."
