Aaron Rodgers drops retirement hint as he outlines NFL exit plan - and blames Jets absence drama on 'deceiving' language

Aaron Rodgers has hinted that the 2024 season could be his last in the NFL as he prepares to make his long-awaited return from injury.

Rodgers, 40, is gearing up for what he hopes will be his first full campaign with the New York Jets after last year's injury nightmare.

Just four snaps into his highly-anticipated Jets debut, the Hall of Fame quarterback tore his Achilles tendon and was forced to watch from the sidelines for the rest of the season.

After making an astonishingly quick recovery - which saw him return to practice just 11 weeks after surgery - he is now fit and firing again ahead of his second go-around in New York.

Yet as he looks ahead to the new season, Rodgers has teased the possibility of it being his last on Barstool Sports' Pardon My Take podcast, despite outlining his initial plan to win two Super Bowls with the Jets and retire.

'I don't know, I'm not sure,' he said when asked how many more years he has left in the NFL. 'This one for sure.

'I wanted to do two good ones to give us a chance to retire a Jet and win two Super Bowls.'

Rodgers sparked controversy earlier this summer after he failed to show for all three days of the Jets' minicamp, with the four-time MVP's absence not approved by coach Robert Saleh.

Dailymail.com later revealed that the New York hierarchy had been left furious with the situation and were considering 'tightening his leash' for the foreseeable future.

Last week Rodgers confirmed that he was in Egypt when he skipped the mandatory minicamp after participating in voluntary OTAs, describing his trip as 'beautiful'.

However, he blames the outrage over his absence on the 'deceiving' language used to describe training camps.

'Now it’s not minicamp, they can arbitrarily put a [mandatory] tag on whatever week of OTAs that they want,' Rodgers said about the controversy.

'This is the "minicamp week," which makes it more mandatory than other weeks, but it’s an OTAs schedule. 

'That’s how words can be a little deceiving. They can make a story about how I missed minicamp when it was really two OTA days. I came to the first 10.'