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As ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky put it, "Even Aaron Rodgers doesn't know what the future holds for him with the Green Bay Packers."

That's how he left things after Sunday's 31-26 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship Game.

"[The Packers have] a lot of guys' futures that are uncertain -- myself included," Rodgers said as part of an answer about how different the team could look next season and what the 2020 campaign meant to him. "That's what's sad about it, most, getting this far. Obviously, it's going to be an end at some point, whether we make it past this one or not, but just the uncertainty's tough and finality of it all."

The 37-year-old presumptive NFL MVP is under contract through 2023 via the $134 million contract extension he signed in 2018. But his long-term future with the Packers was thrown into question when general manager Brian Gutekunst traded up to select Rodgers' possible eventual replacement, Jordan Love, with the 26th pick in last year's draft.

As Demovsky went on to point out, what followed was perhaps Rodgers' best campaign -- 48 touchdowns and just five interceptions in the regular season -- and a fifth appearance in the NFC title game. Sunday was Rodgers' first chance to play in the conference championship game at home, but he became the first quarterback in NFL history to lose four straight appearances in a conference championship game.

His only win came in his first one as a starter, after the 2010 season, on the way to his lone Super Bowl title.

Head coach Matt LaFleur, however, spoke strongly about Rodgers' returning for next season.

"I sure as hell hope so," LaFleur said. "I mean, the guy's the MVP of this league. He's the heart and soul of our football team. So, hell yeah, he better be back here. He's our leader, and you know, just so appreciative of him buying into what we're trying to get done around here and leading that group. His voice carries a lot of weight in that locker room and just, you know, I feel for him. Him being in this situation and for us not to get it done, man, it hurts."

Despite being at the top of his game and knowing full well the status of his contract, Rodgers spoke with some uncertainty about the future.

"It's a good question," Rodgers said when asked what's next for him. "I don't know; I really don't. There's a lot of unknowns going into this offseason now. I'm going to have to take some time away, for sure, and clear my head and just kind of see what's going on with everything. But it's pretty tough right now, especially thinking about the guys that may or may not be here next year. There's always change. That's the only constant in this business.

"It's a grind just to get to this point. And that makes the finality of it all kind of hit you like a ton of bricks. That's why it's a gutting feeling in your stomach."

It's safe to say the way Sunday's loss played out added to the disappointment.

As NFL.com's Michael Silver recounted it, the Packers made a multitude of mistakes, most glaringly allowing Scott Miller to get behind the secondary to catch Tom Brady's 39-yard touchdown pass a second before halftime and fell behind 28-10 early in the third quarter.

Then, fueled by a dominant second-half performance that included intercepting Brady on three consecutive possessions, the Packers were eight yards and a two-point conversion away from tying the game in the final minutes. Yet after three incompletions, with the Packers facing fourth-and-goal from the 8 and trailing 31-23, LaFleur made the surprising decision to have Mason Crosby kick a 26-yard field goal with 2:05 remaining, believing that Green Bay (which had all three timeouts) could get a stop and give Rodgers another chance to score a touchdown.

And then, on a day when the officials had ignored most contact in the secondary and largely kept their flags in their pockets, a late and semi-nitpicky third-down pass interference call on cornerback Kevin King sealed the deal for Brady -- sending him to his 10th Super Bowl -- and the Bucs, who'll face the AFC champion (and defending Super Bowl champion) Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 7 as the first team to play for a Lombardi Trophy in their home stadium.

Rodgers never got a chance for a game-winning drive, because the Packers never got the ball back.

That he was pulled off the field in favor of Crosby -- even if the circumstances made it at least somewhat understandable -- had to make the disappointment even more bitter for Rodgers.

Last week, Rodgers called his future a "beautiful mystery."

According to Demovsky, Rodgers followed that up by doing something after Sunday's loss he has never done before when a season has come to a close: He thanked the reporters on the videoconference call.

"I do appreciate you all and the job that you've done this year," Rodgers said. "I appreciate our interactions, appreciate the opportunity to share every week and will always be thankful for this season. Thank you."

As Silver suggested, we all want clarity, but what happens next isn't as clear-cut as some might portray it.

"Sure, Rodgers -- who is under contract through the 2023 season -- could tell his bosses he wants out and try to force a trade," Silver wrote. "To me, that seems like an extreme scenario given how close this team came to playing for a championship, and how integral he is to its fortunes. It should also be noted that while LaFleur does not technically have final say over such matters, he has won an inordinately high percentage of games during his first two seasons and has a zero-percent desire to go into 2021 without Rodgers as his starter -- and will certainly make his thoughts known.

"More likely, in the aftermath of a defeat he called 'gutting,' Rodgers was flexing his power and sending a message. It's one that Gutekunst and his bosses should listen to closely, and assess carefully."

Profootballtalk.com's Mike Florio, however, doesn't believe a return is certain.

"Some in the media are quick to dismiss the notion of Rodgers wanting out, or of Rodgers getting out," Florio explained. "Why is that? Are they stuck in an outdated way of thinking about football players and their ability to shape their own destinies? Some in the media simply may not want to be bothered with spending time and effort working on a story that has a good chance of going nowhere, especially if Rodgers decides after taking some time to think things through that he’s all in for another year in Green Bay, and maybe more.

"It’s easy to dismiss the notion that the Packers would want to move on from Rodgers. They surely didn’t trade up to pick Love with the idea of swapping out Rodgers for Love after one season, especially when Rodgers had one of the most brilliant seasons of his career. But what the team wants is one thing; what Rodgers wants is another."

Last April, the Packers made it clear that they are plotting a future without him. Rodgers can either sit back and let their plan play out unchallenged, or he can force the issue.

As for the above-mentioned cap implications, Florio notes that trading Rodgers costs the Packers nothing; the team would simply take a cap charge from unallocated bonus payments. In Rodgers’ case, past bonus payments already will count for $14.352 million in his 2021 cap number. Trading him before June 1 (more on that in a second) would accelerate $17.204 million into 2021, bumping the total cap charge to $31.556 million.

That’s a lot, to be sure. But Rodgers, with $22.35 million in 2021 compensation, already has a cap number of $37.572 million. Thus, trading him before June 1 would actually create a net cap savings of $6.016 million.

Love has a cap number of $2.814 million in 2021.

Also worth noting, the Packers could keep the cap charge at $14.352 million for 2021 by trading Rodgers after June 1.

Whatever the case, Silver believes if the Packers want to keep Rodgers in 2021, and perhaps beyond, they're going to need to change their organizational mentality.

"It's time to pursue talent aggressively and relentlessly and try to load up for another title run while this generational quarterback is still willing and able to fuel that effort," Silver added. “Either that, or they can stay passive, sit on their hands and watch it all burn."

Florio summed up as follows: "No matter what happens in 2021, it would be stupid and/or naive to watch Rodgers’ press conference from Sunday and to conclude, 'He’s just upset about the game. He’ll feel better in a few days.'"

Fair points all.

Bottom line: Add Rodgers' name to the list of quarterbacks -- including Deshaun Watson and Matthew Stafford -- with suddenly uncertain futures that we'll all be following closely throughout the offseason.