NFC North

Aaron Rodgers' future with the Green Bay Packers has been a hot topic as of late. And while making his weekly appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, the reigning MVP said he is regularly thinking about his next steps. 

"It's constantly in and around the mind," Rodgers said Tuesday. "... It's 'What does happiness look like in the future?' I think that's the thought process. It's not a specific place or destination. It's what's going to make me happiest moving forward."

Rodgers' comments come about two weeks after he told McAfee that he hadn't thought much about his NFL future, saying that's "weeks and weeks and weeks away."

But as the regular season begins to wind down and the Packers head into the playoffs after clinching the NFC North, Rodgers will only continue to receive questions about his future in Green Bay. He was already asked if a Dec. 12 matchup against the Bears could be his final game against Chicago as the Packers quarterback. 

“I’m not really thinking about that right now,” Rodgers told reporters at the time. “I’m devoting all my energy and focus to this season."

Rodgers' future in Green Bay has been in question since before his holdout during the team's offseason workouts. He was reportedly upset with the Packers' decision to select Jordan Love as his presumed replacement in the first round in 2020. The team did not address the wide receiver position in that draft.

In addition, Rodgers reportedly wanted general manager Brian Gutekunst fired and made fun of him in group text messages with his Packers teammates, according to Bob McGinn of The Athletic.

However, Rodgers later told McAfee that he's had good conversations with Gutekunst since the offseason, adding that he had been involved in a lot of the franchise's decisions to make the team better. 

The three-time first-team All-Pro eventually arrived to training camp after renegotiating his contract and has been all-in for the 2021 season. However, when asked by McAfee on Dec. 14 if he enjoyed being a Packer, his response wasn't very convincing. 

Regardless, Rodgers and the Packers could make a deep postseason run. The California native is once again in the MVP conversation having completed 68 percent of his passes for 3,689 yards and 33 touchdowns against four interceptions through 14 games. 

The Packers host the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday at Lambeau Field before ending the regular season with a road game against the Detroit Lions on Jan. 9.  

Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams both made references to The Last Dance heading into the 2021 NFL season.

While it's possible one or both stars winds up leaving Green Bay this offseason, Peter King of NBC Sports has an idea that could keep them together outside the greater Wisconsin area.

King delved into a scenario where the Denver Broncos fire coach Vic Fangio in favor of Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, land Adams in free agency and then trade first- and fourth-round picks in 2022 and a first-round pick in 2023 along with wideout Jerry Jeudy to the Packers for Rodgers.

While that scenario playing out exactly how King envisioned is unlikely, an Adams-Rodgers pairing in Denver cannot be discounted. The Broncos have one of the most promising young cores of skill-position players in football, making them attractive to Rodgers if he were to decide to force a trade out of Green Bay this offseason.

Green Bay seems unlikely to allow Adams to walk into free agency; he looks like a prime candidate for the franchise tag, even if the Packers' messy cap situation tries getting in the way. Adams is the type of player who can command multiple draft picks in trade talks, so even a short-term tag before trading him feels like the likelier option.

If the Broncos want to throw all their chips to the middle of the table, there are worse ways to do it than keeping Rodgers and Adams together.

No wide receiver has been more prolific through his first two NFL seasons than Justin Jefferson.

With eight catches for 116 yards in Sunday's 30-23 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, the Minnesota Vikings star moved ahead of Odell Beckham Jr. for the most receiving yards through the first two years of a player's career.

Per Stathead, Beckham (2,755) entered the day as the all-time leader. He had a 20-yard edge on Jefferson.

Jefferson knew the stakes Sunday going into the contest. 

"Need 21 yards," he told reporters in reference to Beckham's mark. "Definitely been keeping the tabs for that."

The two-time Pro Bowler is probably savoring the fact he leapfrogged his friend and fellow LSU alumnus, thus giving him bragging rights in perpetuity. 

Beyond the yardage record, Jefferson said he was "excited" to matchup against Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who's widely regarded as one of the best at his position.

"I feel like I live for these moments, ever since I was a kid, just going up against that top guy," he said. "I’m a natural competitor. … To me, it’s a statement game for me considering myself one of the top receivers in the league and solidifying myself. Definitely ready for it."

Jefferson certainly made the most of Sunday's game.

When the Vikings traded Stefon Diggs away in March 2020, it was fair to raise concerns about the state of their passing game going forward. But they used one of the draft picks they received from the Buffalo Bills to take Jefferson at No. 22 overall in the 2020 NFL draft.

So far, things have worked out well in Minnesota.

Some Vikings fans might be wondering whether Jefferson might have another level to reach, too, if a quarterback other than Kirk Cousins is running the offense in 2022 and beyond.

Minnesota Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks was fined $10,300 for his hit on Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields that resulted in his ejection from the Week 15 contest.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported the fine, which is standard when a player draws a late hit penalty. 

Kendricks lowered his head and hit Fields in the helmet after the Bears quarterback slid to the ground in the fourth quarter of Monday's 17-9 Vikings victory. 

Fields was not injured on the play.

Kendricks said he found the ejection "harsh" but understood being penalized.

"Obviously, I did make contact," Kendricks told reporters Wednesday. "I get the penalty. Try to keep him safe. But at the same time, I felt the ejection was a little harsh. I tried to get out of the way. I did hit him, so I do understand the penalty. But the ejection was harsh."

The NFL has put several rules into place in recent years to protect defenseless players—particularly when it involves contact to their head. While Kendricks may have disagreed with his ejection, he clearly lowered his head and made contact with the head of a defenseless player. It was a textbook ejection.

If the NFL wants to better police these types of dangerous hits, the league may want to look into stiffer fines. Kendricks was fined the same amount as the standard fine for taunting. 

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen is expected to return from an ankle injury for Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Rams, per ESPN's Adam Schefter. 

Thielen has been sidelined since injuring his ankle in a 29-27 Week 13 loss to the Detroit Lions.

Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer told reporters after Week 13 that Thielen suffered a sprained ankle against Detroit. The two-time Pro Bowler went down on Minnesota's first drive of the game when he was tackled after catching a pass on third down.

Thielen has been Minnesota's second-best receiver behind Justin Jefferson, catching 64 passes for 686 yards and 10 touchdowns in 12 games. Jefferson leads the team with 89 catches for 1,335 yards and nine scores. 

Thielen has spent his entire eight-year career with the Vikings, though he didn't emerge as one of the team's top receivers until 2016. Since then, he has recorded two 1,000-plus yard seasons and had a career-high 14 touchdowns in 2020. 

When Thielen was sidelined, the Vikings turned to second-year receiver K.J. Osborn, and he did not disappoint. In Weeks 13-15, the 24-year-old caught 10 passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns. He has 41 catches for 516 yards and four scores in 14 games. 

Thielen is returning at the perfect time as the Vikings, who are 7-7, need all the help they can get. While Minnesota has a 34 percent chance of making the playoffs, that number would jump to 54 percent with a win over the Rams.  

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who has been dealing with a toe injury over the last several weeks, told reporters after Saturday's 24-22 win over the Cleveland Browns that he is hoping he did not suffer a "major setback" with the injury.

Rodgers had told Erin Andrews of Fox Sports during his postgame interview that his toe "felt really good" this week.

That was until Browns defensive end Myles Garrett stepped on his toe before halftime, causing the reigning MVP to suffer a setback in his recovery. 

"This was the first week that the toe felt really good," Rodgers told Andrews. "So, I was disappointed to get stepped on. It just kind of set it right back to where it was a few weeks ago, but that's the way it goes. It wasn't on purpose. It's frustrating, but we got the win." 

Rodgers also said he suffered a setback with his toe following a 45-30 win over the Chicago Bears on Dec. 12. He still passed for 341 yards and four touchdowns in that game. 

Saturday's meeting was the first time Garrett and Rodgers had met. After stepping on his toe, Garrett approached Rodgers to apologize for the incident, and the two shook hands before the next play. 

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported earlier this month that Rodgers' toe injury was expected to last for the remainder of the season. The 38-year-old could have underwent surgery, but the operation would've required a pin to be inserted and he wouldn't have been able to play, so he elected to wait until after the season to undergo the procedure. 

Rodgers suffered the ailment during his COVID-19 quarantine in November. The California native said during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show earlier this month that the toe injury wasn't going to stop him from playing, adding that "it's just pain management."

Despite the injury, Rodgers has been impressive this season. He completed 24 of 34 passes for 202 yards and three touchdowns against the Browns, and overtook Brett Favre to become the Packers' leader in career touchdown passes. 

Rodgers entered Saturday's game having completed 67.8 percent of his passes for 3,487 yards and 30 touchdowns against just four interceptions. 

The Packers are 12-3 and have already locked up the NFC North title, clinching a spot in the playoffs. They'll face the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions to end the regular season. 

After setting a new franchise record for passing touchdowns in Saturday's win over the Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers star quarterback Aaron Rodgers reflected on his accomplishment.

Rodgers pointed to his time as the backup to Hall of Famer Brett Favre as one of the reasons for him reaching this achievement.

"I got to sit behind a legend for three years and see what greatness looked like firsthand," Rodgers told Fox Sports' Erin Andrews. "That's an experience that changed my life forever, and I'm so fortunate to be able to play here at this stadium for these fans and in this great organization for the last 17 years. This is, ya know, a longevity record, but it's one I'm really proud of."

Rodgers threw three touchdowns in Saturday's 24-22 win and now has 445 passing scores in his career, surpassing Favre's longtime record of 442. He set the mark with an 11-yard score to Allen Lazard in the first quarter. He threw two touchdowns to his favorite target Davante Adams, who recorded 10 catches for 114 yards.

Rodgers has been one of the most prolific quarterbacks in the NFL since becoming the Packers' full-time starter in 2008. He's thrown for at least 25 touchdowns in 12 out of the last 14 seasons, topping the 40-touchdown mark three times.

In the midst of another strong season, Rodgers is in the running for his second consecutive NFL MVP award, which would be his fourth overall. Including Saturday's performance, he's thrown for 3,689 yards and 33 touchdowns with just four interceptions in 14 games.

The Packers improved to 12-3 with their fourth straight victory and are the top seed in the NFC. With just two weeks left in the season, they are in the driver's seat to secure the conference's first-round bye. Green Bay already clinched the NFC North with last week's win over the Baltimore Ravens, its third consecutive division title. 

Rodgers and the Packers will be back in action next Sunday night against the Minnesota Vikings.