There seems to be no real end in sight for the Aaron Rodgers free agency saga.
The former Green Bay Packers superstar quarterback has now been available on the free market for about a month, and while he has been linked to several teams, he hasn’t made a decision.
Right now, the Pittsburgh Steelers are believed to be the only team with any real interest in the four-time NFL MVP. But he has expressed strong interest in joining the Minnesota Vikings — in fact, it is believed he is dragging out the process in the hopes the Vikings eventually make him an offer.
Right now, they’re invested in J.J. McCarthy, the former Michigan Wolverines quarterback who won the College Football Playoff National Championship just 15 months ago and missed all of last season with a meniscus injury.
Rodgers’ pitch to Minnesota was reportedly that he could help it win the Super Bowl championship right away while showing the 22-year-old McCarthy the ropes. But Minnesota said no.
“In the end, faced with all that, the Vikings found themselves emboldened to give McCarthy the runway to seize the job, the staff the opportunity to build the offense for him, and see how that looked at the end of the spring. So the Vikings passed on Rodgers, pushing their chips in on a 22-year-old.”
𝗥𝗨𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗦: Aaron Rodgers’s “pitch” to the Vikings was to make a one-year run at a championship and be a willing mentor for 22-year-old QB JJ McCarthy per @AlbertBreer
“In the end, faced with all that, the Vikings found themselves emboldened to give McCarthy the runway to… pic.twitter.com/Pg5qICQ4Ub
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) April 15, 2025
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There have been doubts about McCarthy’s ability to carry a team that runs a pass-heavy offense after he played in Jim Harbaugh’s pound-and-ground system at Michigan. Meanwhile, an argument could be made that a one-year rental of Rodgers could be worth it for a Vikings team that went 14-3 last season with Sam Darnold under center.
They have Justin Jefferson, arguably the best wide receiver in football, an excellent WR2 in Jordan Addison and a productive tight end in T.J. Hockenson. They also have workhorse running back Aaron Jones, who happened to be a longtime teammate of Rodgers when both played for the Packers from 2017 to 2022.
While with the New York Jets, Rodgers threw for 3,897 yards and 28 touchdowns last season. The Jets went 5-12 and missed the playoffs for the 15th consecutive year.
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