Should Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady retire soon?
Both Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady are enduring some of the worst seasons of their career. Is this a sign to walk away after the 2022 season? Two of the greatest football players ever may be nearing the end, and the end might be coming quicker than some think.
Tom Brady retired for a hot second at the end of the 2021 season but decided to unretire weeks later, saying that he believes he has something left in the tank. After an awkward, year-plus-long situation between Aaron Rodgers and the Packers organization, Rodgers decided to sign a mega extension, making him the highest-paid QB in NFL history.
Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady may need to reconsider retirement
During that process, Rodgers was considering retirement himself. Both obviously came back for the 2022 season, however, should they have both considered retiring? It’s a tough question because of how much each has invested into the game for years.
Tom Brady and his Buccaneers are struggling mightily, battling injuries and inconsistent play on both sides of the ball. At 3-5, Brady is on pace to have the worst season of his career. His 92.4 rating would be one of the lowest of his career if it holds. He’s on pace to throw just 19 touchdown passes, which would be the second-lowest total of his career.
It doesn’t appear that Brady’s physical play, field vision, or anything like that has fallen off, though. Brady is a free agent at the end of the season, and it doesn’t look like he’d return to Tampa if he wanted to continue playing. Perhaps he’d look for another advantageous situation like Tampa was a few years ago when he arrived.
However, maybe Father Time has eventually caught up to the GOAT. At this rate, maybe Tom wishes he would have stayed retired. Aaron Rodgers’ case is a bit different. He’s played for the Packers his entire career and nearly retired at the end of the 2021 season.
Rodgers’ frustration with the front offices’ lack of investment in pass catchers is obvious, and the trading of Davante Adams is having an unfortunate impact on Rodgers. His 94.9 passer rating would be the lowest of his career since 2015. He’s also already thrown three interceptions, having thrown just four all of 2021 and five all of 2020.
He’s on pace to throw seven interceptions, which is still very low but would be the highest of his career since 2016. The Packers’ 3-4 record is also an uncharacteristic thing that the team is dealing with. This could be a giant “I told you so” from Rodgers to the front office, as it’s clear that their lack of investment in pass catchers is showing up.
Their current WR room is filled with a mixture of old-heads, mid-20s veterans, young guys, and everything in between. There is no clear WR1 like Davante Adams, and even when Adams was in Green Bay, the other receivers on the depth chart weren’t exactly the most consistent.
Both players are in tough spots in their careers. They have to know that they can both still play at a high level, but forces outside of their control have seemed to impact them in 2022.