With Andrew Luck's stunning retirement still reverberating around the NFL, the question of when some quarterbacks plan to walk away has become an even more intriguing question.
One player who has dealt with a series of injuries recently is Green Bay Packers signal-caller Aaron Rodgers. The 35-year-old has no designs to leave the sport soon, and already has his retirement plans booked.
"Yeah, win the Super Bowl when I'm 45 and ride off into the sunset," Rodgers quipped Friday during his appearance on The Rich Eisen Show.
When pressed by Eisen whether he indeed plans to play another decade, Rodgers said it depends how his body holds up.
"We'll see," Rodgers said, via the Green Bay Press Gazette. "I envision playing as long as my body feels good and I have the love for the game that I do right now that still fuels me and is still a passion. And I still love the daily grind and the practice and the preparation. If I can give everything to a team in that manner and my body feels good, I'm going to keep rolling."
Rodgers dealt with a knee sprain and bone bruise most of the 2018 season, missed nine games in 2017 with a shoulder injury and endured a slight calf strain near the end of 2016. While Luck retired because he was worn down by injuries, Rodgers pointing to his love of the daily grind suggests he'll be able to play until his body ultimately lets him down.
The other aspect of Luck's retirement that has been discussed heavily is the idea that the former Indianapolis Colts QB didn't need football because he had other interests outside of slinging pigskin. Some pundits have suggested those types of people should be a red flag for future football employees.
Rodgers told Eisen that those people who think it's a red flag for players to be considered smart, deep thinkers or have interests outside of football are full of manure.
"I think it's probably a ridiculous view by folks who don't have any creativity or any other interests outside of the thing right in front of them 24-7," Rodgers said. "I think the beauty in this game is meeting teammates who have interests outside of football."
Rodgers, who is known to have a variety of interests outside of football, said the diversity within the locker room is one thing that makes him want to continue to show up to work every day, and play into his 40s.
"You meet guys who are incredible musicians or really interested in travel or charitable work or whatnot," he said. "I think having interests is what allows you to have that balance off the field, which I think makes your on-the-field or at-the-stadium or in-the-facility work that much more important ...
"I think you can't have enough of those type of guys who are well-rounded people and have a creativity and a curiosity about more than just ball because I think those guys get burnt out and those guys are not as relatable. When you're talking about leaders, you need to find guys who can be relatable in the locker room.
"I think people who only can ever talk about football are going to have a hard time relating to every person or multiple people in the locker room because guys have interests and you have to find ways to relate to them in the locker room to get them to buy into what you're trying to do."
