As the final week of this historic NFL is wrapped up and the league focuses on the Playoffs, many interesting storylines have opened up. With the offseason beginning for many teams this week, these storylines could end up changing the NFL entirely. Let’s talk about three all-time great quarterbacks that could retire this off-season.
One- Matt Ryan, Indianapolis Colts, and Atlanta Falcons
Of the quarterbacks that will be on this list, Ryan would be considered the worst of them, which is absolutely crazy considering how great Matt Ryan has been since entering the NFL. Matt Ryan is seventh in all-time passing yards, ninth in all-time passing touchdowns, and 18th in career passer rating. Along with that, he had one of the best seasons for a quarterback in NFL history, which led to him winning the NFL league MVP and leading the Falcons to a Superbowl appearance. It’s no secret that this season with the Colts has been extremely underwhelming and he has not played like Matt Ryan of the past, so now feels like the right time for him to call it a career.
Two- Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
It’s no secret this was an extremely down year by Aaron Rodgers’ standards and he was not happy about it at all. For the past four years, Aaron Rodgers has been making a drama out of whether he was going to retire, request a trade, or just stay like he ended up doing. However, this feels like the year Rodgers might actually decide to hang up the cleats and end his career as one of the greatest to ever do it. Rodgers is currently ninth in all-time passing yards, fifth in passing touchdowns, and second all-time in career passer rating.
The Packers showed a major decline this season from last and their future is not looking anywhere near promising as of right now. Their receiving core is extremely young and has been extremely up and down, causing them many games. With how old Rodgers is getting and how his play is declining he likely won’t want to deal with a rebuild and his contract likely won’t allow a rebuild anyway. After the loss to the Detroit Lions last week, Jameson Williams asked for Aaron Rodgers’ jersey and Rodgers responded “ I think I’m going to hold onto this one” almost signifying this is his last game. All the signs lead to him being gone this year and letting Green bay move on to Jordan Love.
Three- Tom Brady, New England Patriots, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers
He may have retired from the NFL last year for a few months and then threw his marriage away to come back and play, but this year likely did not go nearly as well as Brady would’ve hoped. The Buccaneers may have made the playoffs due to being the best team in a division where no one finished above .500 and Brady had a bad year for his standards. Brady only had 25 touchdowns compared to nine interceptions and finished with one of the lowest season passer ratings in his entire career. The Buccaneer’s roster is aging and falling apart quickly and Brady is too old to deal with any of that.
Many people believe he will play longer due to him throwing his marriage away for football, and join a different team. However, most QB-needy teams at the moment are not in a mode for competing right now and Brady would need a team who’s a QB away to want to return to football at all. Brady has already solidified himself as the GOAT of the sport and it is almost undebatable at this point, so there is no point for him to go on and help a team who’s not yet ready to compete.
