Rodgers believes decision could come in ‘couple of weeks’

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said he doesn’t expect to make a decision on whether to play next season until after the Super Bowl.

Rodgers, 39, has said he is still making up his mind on whether he wants to return to the Packers for a 19th season, retire or request a trade. The four-time MVP also has noted the possibility the Packers may want to move him.

“It’s going to be a little more time for my decision,” Rodgers said Tuesday during his weekly appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on SiriusXM and YouTube. “I feel confident that in a couple of weeks I’ll feel definitely more strongly about one of the two decisions.”

The first decision is whether he wants to play at all.

“You’ve got to be cognizant of what was going through your mind during the season,” Rodgers said. “Did you enjoy the grind as much? Did you enjoy practice? Did you enjoy the meeting time? Did you enjoy the routine? And not forget about those feelings and make an emotional response either way. I think that’s important.”

Rodgers was the league MVP in 2020 and 2021, but didn’t perform as well this season while playing with a broken right thumb and dealing with the absence of star wideout Davante Adams, who was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders in March.

Salary cap in 2023 to be $224.8 million

The NFL’s salary cap will be $224.8 million in 2023, an increase of $16.6 million.

The league informed teams of the new cap figure on Monday in a memo obtained by The Associated Press.

Overall, the cap is up $42.3 million from 2021, when it was at $182.5 million after the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic caused a decrease of nearly $10 million.

Teams must be under the cap by 4 p.m. ET on March 15.

Quarterbacks will have the highest franchise tag cost at $32,416,000 followed by linebackers at $20,926,000, wide receivers at $19,743,000 and defensive ends $19,727,000.

Titans switch to synthetic turf

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Titans are tearing up the grass field at Nissan Stadium and replacing it with a synthetic surface before the 2023 season.

The Titans announced the change Tuesday. The team, which already has started work, is making the change after reviewing injury rates and knowing how difficult it is to grow grass at Nissan Stadium since it opened in 1999.

“Ultimately there’s just a limit to how much can be done for a natural grass surface in this part of the country,” said Burke Nihill, the team president and CEO. “This turf is cutting-edge technology and will be a huge improvement in terms of consistency and performance.”

The Titans have led the NFL in each of the past two seasons for most players used, including setting a league record with 91 players in 2021 — most in a non-strike season — because of injuries.

Falcons hire Gray

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Atlanta Falcons coach Arthur Smith continued to reshape his defensive staff by hiring Jerry Gray as the assistant head coach for defense on Tuesday.

Gray, 60, brings 26 years of NFL coaching experience to Atlanta, including eight as a defensive coordinator and 16 as a defensive backs coach. In those 24 years as a coordinator or defensive backs coach, his defenses have ranked in the top 10 in scoring defense 10 times and in passing defense 13 times.

The addition of Gray, who had been Green Bay’s defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator, forms a reunion with Smith.

The two worked together as assistants on Washington’s staff in 2007-08 and on Tennessee’s staff from 2011-13, when Gray was the Titans defensive coordinator.