Aaron Rodgers is looking for his next NFL team, and Steve Young has weighed in on what Rodgers should do.
Young appeared on “The Rich Eisen Show” on Tuesday and shared his advice for Rodgers, who is looking for a new NFL home after spending two seasons with the New York Jets.
“One thing Aaron has always had until recently was a great team, a great understanding of the quarterback position, innovative minds, great playcallers, stuff that I had. It’s a blessing in quarterbacks' lives,” he said.
Young gave his perspective on what traits Rodgers should look for in his next team.
“You don’t want to go to a team just to finish your career to give it another shot that doesn’t really have an innovative, young mind that can call the plays and the protection that you need and the athletes around you. So there’s not many spots,” he said. “It’s a really tight spot right now.”
He said Rodgers should look to do something similar to Matthew Stafford, who chose to stay with the Los Angeles Rams and head coach Sean McVay.
“Aaron Rodgers wants to keep playing because he can thrive if he gets the right situation. It’s just hard to find that spot,” Young said.
Steve Young on his retirement
Young then spoke about his own retirement from the NFL and how hard it was to adjust to a life without being able to do the thing you’re considered the best at.
“For me at the end, Rich, the toughest thing is you’re one of the best in the world at something and then it ends at a young age, and then you wake up the next day and you say, ‘What am I great at?’ Because the thing I’m the best at is no longer. What am I great at? Nothing. What am I even good at, looking forward? Maybe not much,‘” he said on the podcast.
He added that, “When your career ends, the dream is shattered. You’re the bag of bones at the bottom of the cliff.”
Young then shared that when he retired, Roger Staubach advised him to “‘just run. Run away. The game will never leave you, but you’ve got to run.‘”
“That’s the best advice I can give because it’s a death. You have to treat it as a death. It’s a death, and you’ve got to go through all the processes of death because it’s what you’re best at,” Young said.
Where will Aaron Rodgers play next?
On Friday, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reported that the New York Giants would pursue Rodgers after he is officially released by the Jets.
On Tuesday, Matthew Berry of NBC Sports reported that Rodgers is eyeing the Giants, the Tennessee Titans or he could choose to “stay in shape and wait for an injury/opening on a winning team with playoff chances.”
The Pittsburgh Steelers and Las Vegas Raiders could also be options, as Eisen mentioned to Young on Tuesday.
Young isn’t a fan of Rodgers going to the Giants, Steelers or Raiders, he told Eisen.
In regards to the Raiders, Young thinks “that one is possible only because” Rodgers can’t retire yet. He believes the Raiders aren’t in the position to give Rodgers the weapons and protection he would need to succeed.
Young doesn’t think the Steelers are the right fit because “they’re just not built for today’s game. I don’t know how else to say it. It’s built for success, but not for Super Bowls.”
Young cited the Jacksonville Jaguars and the New Orleans Saints as places with young, offensively innovative coaches, “but there’s not jobs to be had.”