The Annoying Vikings Rumor Just Won’t Die
For some odd reason, the future of Aaron Rodgers has been a major NFL topic in every single offseason for more than half a decade, and it just keeps repeating itself once the calendar hits February. Unlike the last few years, the Vikings were caught in the crossfire this time.
The Annoying Vikings Rumor Won’t Die
During free agency, when backup quarterback options joined clubs left and right, the Vikings still had only J.J. McCarthy, coming off a major knee injury, and Brett Rypien, a QB3 under contract. Because they wouldn’t publicly commit to their sophomore passer, folks turned that into “the Vikings don’t trust McCarthy,” despite them watching Pro Bowler Sam Darnold exit the building on a bogus three-year deal.
Then, Rodgers to the Vikings was the main news item for a week or two between the first wave of free agency and the draft. That was primarily driven by a couple of reporters who just refused to let it die, even after some of the other big-time news-breakers like Tom Pelissero said it won’t happen.
At some point, even those people had to concede, and the storyline disappeared more quietly than it had arrived. The Vikings still haven’t announced McCarthy as the starter, and they won’t for weeks and months to come, but suddenly, folks still just agreed that it’s obviously his job.
Well, it has been a fun six weeks, but Rodgers is back in the news cycle, or the rumor mill. The reason for that is one man from ESPN, called Jeremy Fowler, who appeared on the Dan Patrick Show a few days ago, and he recycled the old talker that Rodgers was still waiting to sign elsewhere because he preferred the Vikings.
“There’s some teams I’ve talked to, they are still kind of wondering, like, is he just waiting out the Vikings, you know? Because the Vikings would be an ideal scenario, one of the best play callers in the league in head coach Kevin O’Connell, nine dome games, you’re guaranteed nine dome games per year,” Fowler suggested.
He then added: “There’s some element of that, but I checked in with the Vikings, I still don’t expect that. They’re moving forward with J.J. McCarthy. So he really has no other option, other than Pittsburgh or retiring.”
It’s undeniable that the Vikings are a dream situation for any quarterback. Kevin O’Connell has made bad quarterbacks look good and average quarterbacks look great. The presence of Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and T.J. Hockenson helps, too, and so does one of the best defenses in all of football. Furthermore, the offensive line has been fixed. The roster is competitive, and the coaching staff is excellent.
Just last week, it was revealed that Caleb Williams wanted to play for the purple NFC North franchise rather than the Bears ahead of being drafted first overall 13 months ago. All it took was a conversation with O’Connell at the combine.
It’s time to let it go. Rodgers won’t play for the Vikings in 2025. They are focused on McCarthy, and that won’t change until, at the earliest, late in August if McCarthy has an underwhelming training camp and doesn’t show growth, something that shouldn’t be expected considering everyone is praising him.
Even then, it would take a monumental failure from the former Michigan Wolverine to even consider pulling the plug.
Rodgers will turn 42 last in the season, and Father Time is still undefeated. The future Hall of Famer hasn’t looked like one since the 2021 campaign when he won MVP. A fairly average year with the Packers in 2022 was followed by a lost season due to his Achilles injury in 2023 and a disappointing season for the Jets in 2024.
Rodgers still produced solid counting numbers, but his efficiency was below average. His EPA/Play+CPOE output placed him in a group with rookie Drake Maye, a struggling Kirk Cousins, Daniel Jones (who ended up getting cut), and Trevor Lawrence.
The probable outcome for the former Packer will be retirement or signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers. If it is the latter option, he will face Minnesota overseas in Week 4, in the NFL’s first contest in Dublin, Ireland.