What do you get when you play free agency by your own rules and on your own time? Apparently an early retirement. At least, that could be the case for Mr. Enigma himself, Aaron Rodgers.
Waiting for the perfect landing spot might’ve just backfired — and it could be thanks to the New York Giants. After locking up Jameis Winston on a two-year, $8 million deal, Joe Schoen doubled down and took a swing on 36-year-old Russell Wilson. One year, $10.5 million guaranteed, up to $21 million with incentives.
From the outside looking in, if ESPN’s Adam Schefter is to be believed (and let’s be real, he usually is), Rodgers might be kicking himself for waiting too long on the G-Men. Schefter is now reporting that Rodgers might already know his next move.
The New York Giants might have forced Aaron Rodgers into an early retirement
Rodgers has always done things his way. Disappear to darkness retreats. Duck the offseason. Star in a Netflix documentary. All of it. But now? That approach might’ve finally backfired. Schefter went on the Jen, Gabe & Chewy podcast and dropped the line that sent football Twitter into a frenzy: “I’m hearing he might not want to play.”
"I'm hearing he might not want to play." 👀
— ESPN Milwaukee (@ESPNMilwaukee) March 26, 2025
Adam Schefter on @AaronRodgers12 potential retirement. pic.twitter.com/UIGPXFOoj2
That’s more than your typical speculation. That’s Schefty. The guy doesn’t speak unless there’s smoke—and probably fire. And suddenly, the “Rodgers to the Giants” dream, which once looked semi-realistic, seems dead and buried. Because the Giants ran out of patiei
The truth is Rodgers waited and Joe Schoen didn’t. He locked in Winston, then turned around and grabbed Wilson. In doing so, he not only gave the Giants a competent quarterback room but may have inadvertently pushed Rodgers out of the league.
Sure, the Pittsburgh Steelers are still out there. But if Rodgers actually wanted to be in Pittsburgh, wouldn’t there be a deal by now? Instead, the Steelers have set a “soft deadline,” and Mike Tomlin’s future might be tied to whether or not this circus even lands in town. The longer this drags out, the less likely it feels.
And let’s not forget about the Vikings—the supposed Brett Favre-fantasy-fulfilled team Rodgers was eyeing. They’ve reportedly shown no interest in bringing him in at this time. So with Minnesota out and the Giants clearly off the table, the writing might be on the wall. Retirement.
Rodgers would never admit the Giants played a role in how things are shaking out, but make no mistake, they took an interesting option off the board. They made a move. He didn’t.
If this ends with Rodgers walking away because the league moved on without him, Giants fans shouldn't hold back the thought that it was their team that put the nail in Rodgers' playing coffin. Rodgers wanted everything on his terms. Now he might not get to anything at all.