“No State Income Tax”: Aaron Rodgers Talking About His Fondness For the State Of Tennessee Sparks Trade Debate

The Aaron Rodgers Show in New York seems like it’s going to end after just one campaign. He has spoken multiple times over the last few weeks about the possibility of being released, even specifically positing that he might be cut the day after the 2024 regular season ends.

Now, he’s starting to look to the future and where he might land for the 2025 season if he does indeed hit the unemployment line in January.

While making his weekly appearance on ESPN’s The Pat McAfee Show, Rodgers started speaking surprisingly candidly about a possible destination for him next year. Rodgers didn’t specifically mention the Tennessee Titans, but he was gushing about the state of Tennessee, including the fact that they have “no state income tax” there. If he were to play for the Titans, this would mean Rodgers could keep a much larger percentage of his millionaire salary.

“Shoutout to the great state of Tennessee, you know. Phenomenal state. Great people out there, great people. No state income tax. Lot of great country music down there… Barbecue, great barbecue in Memphis.”

The outburst was all the more notable because Rodgers blurted it out in the midst of a conversation about the Tennessee Volunteers football team. Clearly, Rodgers had Tennessee on his mind heading into this appearance, but we highly doubt it was because of the Vols.

This latest update in the Rodgers saga is all the more interesting considering the Titans were in the Rodgers sweepstakes before the QB decided on the Jets back in 2023. However, that was back when the Titans still had Derrick Henry, DeAndre Hopkins, and Mike Vrabel.

They’re clearly in rebuild mode now, which would make it a strange move for Rodgers in the twilight of his career.

There’s no doubt Tennessee needs a change at QB, however. Will Levis has not worked out despite the Titans going out to get a supposed offensive guru in Brian Callahan to be their head coach and QB mentor.

Levis has made plays that were so thoughtless this season that at one point Callahan walked on the field and could be visibly seen saying “what the f*** are you doing?” after a particularly silly pass.

There is a world where the Titans sign Rodgers at a reasonable price and then draft a project at QB in the 2025 NFL Draft to sit behind Rodgers and learn. Titans fans certainly hope that will be the case, though non-Tennessee fans see the hypothetical move as nothing but an amusement.

Aaron Rodgers clearly still wants to play. But one would think the 41-year-old wants to go to a win-now destination, which Tennessee is not. Looking at it from that perspective, the Titans-Rodgers marriage seems unlikely. But, if we’ve learned anything from the Enigma he has become, it’s to expect the unexpected.

The Titans are currently 3-12 and angling for one of the top draft picks in 2025, which they would likely use on a QB whether or not they acquired Rodgers.