Za'Darius Smith Says Aaron Rodgers Could Play Until He's 46
By Jackson Thompson
Tom Brady set the bar high when he claimed he wants to play until he's 45, but one of Aaron Rodgers' teammates believes that the Packers' quarterback can stick around in the league even longer.
In an interview with TMZ, Green Bay Packers linebacker Za'Darius Smith said that Rodgers has "another 10 years left." Rodgers, who is 36, would have to be in the league until the age of 46 to live up to Smith's bold statement, one year longer than Brady intends to play.
#Packers OLB Za’Darius Smith recently told @TMZ he thinks Aaron Rodgers has “another 10 years left” in the NFL.
— Joe Kipp (@JuhKipp) February 10, 2020
“I talk to him, lift weights with him. He’s still legit. I promise you he can.”
Rodgers has not responded to these comments, and has given no timetable on how long he plans on playing. However, back in the summer of 2017, after the Packers had missed the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons, Rodgers admitted that he was on the "back nine" of his career.
- 4,002 passing yards
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) February 11, 2020
- 26 touchdowns
- 4 interceptions (led NFL in INT %)
Watch @AaronRodgers12's 2019 season highlights.#GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/d7lBfgNZ7i
The former Cal product has already been in the league 15 seasons, despite having served as a backup for the first three. Smith seems to believe Rodgers has enough left in the tank to carve out a 25-year career. That would be quite the milestone.