The Pittsburgh Steelers are presumably the heavy front-runners to sign free agent quarterback Aaron Rodgers, but the four-time MVP is reportedly hoping to land elsewhere.
Pittsburgh and the New York Giants visited Rodgers and appeared to be the two finalists for his services. But the Giants essentially took themselves out of the running when they signed Jameis Winston and Russell Wilson just days apart.
There have also been conflicting reports about Rodgers following Brett Favre’s footsteps by joining the Minnesota Vikings, following a brief stint with the New York Jets that was preceded by an illustrious run with the Green Bay Packers.
Speaking on the latest episode of the “Scoop City” podcast, The Athletic NFL insider Dianna Russini reports that Rodgers landing with Minnesota remains a possibility: This comes after ESPN’s Kevin Seifert reported that Rodgers told the NFC North club they’re his preferred team.
“I do think there’s a world — and I know Vikings fans don’t want to see it. Whether it’s their hate for Aaron Rodgers. Whether it’s they feel J.J.’s not getting a fair shake. Whatever the reason is for why some Vikings fans don’t want to see Aaron Rodgers, they have to come to grips — there is a world that exists, this year, where Aaron Rodgers hangs out and the Minnesota Vikings pick up the phone and they make the call. It could happen.”
Russini added that 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy has not been promised the starting job for 2025. The Michigan product missed his entire rookie year recovering from a knee injury, opening the door for Sam Darnold to have a career year in Minnesota that led to a $100.5 million deal with the Seattle Seahawks.
Aaron Rodgers was released by the New York Jets after a disastrous 2024 season that saw head coach Robert Saleh and GM Joe Douglas get fired mid-season. Rodgers still had a solid statistical season, throwing for 3,897 yards, 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions behind one of the league’s worst offensive lines.
Vikings Should Definitely Consider Signing Aaron Rodgers
At the end of the day, Rodgers is a four-time league MVP who showed that he can still play at a high level on one of the league’s worst teams. Now imagine if he went to a star-studded Minnesota team with Justin Jefferson, T.J. Hockenson, Jordan Addison and Aaron Jones as its main weapons.
We still don’t know what the Vikings have in McCarthy, who was considered a boom-or-bust prospect before Minny traded up for him. It doesn’t at all hurt to bring in Rodgers and try and “win now” while letting McCarthy learn behind one of the all-time greats.
