49ers news: Did San Francisco just end Aaron Rodgers tenure with Packers?

The 49ers just ended Aaron Rodgers’ fourth postseason campaign in his career, creating speculation he won’t be back in Green Bay.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is now 0-4 against the San Francisco 49ers in the postseason over his otherwise storybook Hall of Fame-caliber career.

This, after the Niners pulled off the shocking 13-10 road upset over the No. 1-seeded Packers at Lambeau Field on Saturday night in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs, sending San Francisco to the NFC Championship game and a date with the Los Angeles Rams, whom it has beat twice already during the regular season and six times in a row.

For Rodgers, though, he faces an uncertain future and one that might remove him from any further postseason clashes against his boyhood 49ers team.

Packers face plenty of challenges this offseason

Niners fans don’t care about what obstacles and difficulties general manager Brian Gutekunst and the Packers will face heading into the 2022 offseason. Although there’s a strong chance Green Bay will look vastly different next year, which might hold weight whenever these two teams face off against each other again.

The Packers are currently $41.1 million over the salary cap for 2022, according to Over the Cap, which is the second-worst situation behind the New Orleans Saints being $74 million over the cap.

This could force Green Bay to navigate some likely cap casualties, players like safety Adrian Amos and edge rusher Za’Darius Smith.

But one of Rodgers’ best weapons, wide receiver Davante Adams who torched San Francisco during its Week 3 loss to the Packers and again had 90 receiving yards in the divisional round, is an unrestricted free agent.

It’s likely Adams wants to go wherever Rodgers goes in 2022. If it’s to stay in Green Bay, though, the financial limitations will create some serious challenges.

49ers may have had last laugh in Aaron Rodgers’ time with Packers

“I don’t want to be part of a rebuild if I’m going to keep playing.” -Aaron Rodgers

Rodgers once remarked how the 49ers would regret passing on him after selecting now-retired quarterback Alex Smith No. 1 overall in the 2005 NFL Draft.

Absolutely. No questioning that. But Rodgers’ record in the playoffs against the Niners is a decent consolation prize for San Francisco, capped off by yet another premature exit by the Packers in a postseason setting.

Speaking to the media after losing to the 49ers yet again (h/t KNBR 680), Rodgers didn’t exactly sound like he’s dead set on returning to Green Bay despite technically being under contract through 2022:

"There’s a lot of players whose futures are up in the air, so definitely will be interesting to see which way some of those decisions will go. But I’ll have the conversations with Brian [Gutekunst] in the next week or so and get a little bit more clarity and think about my own future and how much longer I want to keep doing this.But there are a lot of decisions to be made and key players … So many guys’ contracts are up or on the brink or salary-cap stuff, so lot of decisions to be made. I don’t want to be part of a rebuild if I’m going to keep playing, so a lot of decisions in the next couple months."

Rodgers and Gutekunst’s relationship was salty during the offseason, perhaps in the ongoing wake of Green Bay’s first-round drafting of fellow quarterback Jordan Love in 2020, Rodgers’ heir apparent.

That led to speculation Rodgers would want out from under the Packers entering this season, although the two sides managed to improve their relationship anyway.

Read More: 5 reasons why Niners ultimately managed to beat Packers in divisional round

Now, however, the context has changed a lot. Especially in light of all those factors Green Bay is facing amid an uncertain offseason.

Rodgers’ end with the Packers, whenever it comes, is going to be bittersweet for Green Bay fans, yes.

And if the Niners wind up having anything to do with it, it might just be one more bragging right for San Francisco.