It’s a tough send-off to beat ourselves with drop passes, turnovers and undisciplined penalties, but the players banded together and got through the tough times in ways that brought them closer together, but it all came to nothing .
“It’s tough,” running back AJ Dillon said. “Of course, you’ve taken that path and everything is going well and everything looks exactly the way you want it to, but that’s life sometimes. It doesn’t always work out the way you want it to.
“There are a lot of good things to come out of it and a lot of life lessons. I would rather just use that as motivation for next year.”
As usual at this point, the year ahead is full of uncertainty. The questions start with the future of quarterback Aaron Rodgers, with some veterans who don’t know what’s next, some with expiring contracts, and some with salary cap concerns.
A hodgepodge of musings on and off the field over the next few months applies to so many. Consider the example of running back Aaron Jones, arguably the offense’s most dynamic playmaker.
For the first time since 2019, he battled in a battered body to play in all games for the second time in his career, achieving rushing yards (1,121) along the way and earning prizes off the field. I set a personal best. He’s also going into his second offseason in three of his seasons, but it’s been a costly failure and will likely be considered for a contract by decision makers.
As spring approaches, Jones isn’t the center of attention. Far from it. would be Rogers.
But Jones’ current snapshot, while filled with many positive achievements, is tinged with the negative future uncertainty of the end of the season.
“When you’re right there, it’s never the way you want it to be.” I’m a little disappointed, but I’m proud of all my mates in the locker room. We fought and never gave up. It will be better in the end.”
It was a sentiment that followed three straight 13-win seasons that ended too soon for a variety of reasons. It’s not yet outlined where it’s headed, but the prospects for the franchise stand.
“The margin of error is very small. It’s hard to win in this league. “It’s not easy and it’s a reality of having to be at the top of your game all season, but we weren’t.”
