Even though signs point to an Aaron Rodgers return to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a second year, reuniting with head coach Mike McCarthy, the conversation regarding the Minnesota Vikings as a potential Rodgers destination hasn’t gone away.
Some insiders, like ESPN’s Adam Schefter, have stated that they wouldn’t rule out the Vikings as a landing spot for Rodgers, should the 42-year-old quarterback decide to play this season.
But now, thanks to a report from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano, that conversation might just go away after all.
According to Fowler and Graziano, the Vikings have their eyes on four quarterbacks and the developments with those situations this offseason in the Raiders’ Geno Smith, the Cardinals’ Kyler Murray, the Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa, and the Falcons’ Kirk Cousins.
One name very clearly absent from that group? Rodgers.
“I’ve also heard that the Vikings are considering Murray and Smith as they outline their veteran quarterback plan. Tua Tagovailoa and [Kirk] Cousins are also on their radar,” Fowler writes. “Some I’ve talked to are breaking those four into two tiers, with Murray and Smith in the first group. None of those quarterbacks are free agents, but Cousins will be soon, and the others are available via either a trade or a release.
“The expectation leaguewide is that a combination of Murray, Smith and Tagovailoa — and possibly all three — will be free agents soon enough, barring intensified trade talks. And many quarterbacks view Minnesota as an attractive destination.”
The Vikings should be an attractive destination for a quarterback. Minnesota has a high-level head coach and offensive play caller in Kevin O’Connell, and on the offensive side of the football the Vikings have weapons in Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson to work with, not to mention veteran running back Aaron Jones.
Former first-round pick J.J. McCarthy didn’t pan out in his first year as a starter, which has the Vikings weighing their options at quarterback. One of those — at least right now — doesn’t appear to be Rodgers.
Graziano did write in the Scouting Combine buzz file that the Vikings could “pivot” to a name like Rodgers or Joe Flacco if they can’t land a quarterback to push McCarthy, but Rodgers seems out of the picture almost entirely for the Vikings at the moment.
Before Rodgers signed his one-year deal with the Steelers last June, there was plenty of speculation that he was waiting for the Vikings to change their mind under former GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. Rodgers is good friends with O’Connell, and returning to the NFC North and playing in a dome for home games could have been good for Rodgers late in his career.
That didn’t transpire. It didn’t even come all that close to happening, either.
He had a decent season with the Steelers, and teammates want him back. So does Mike McCarthy, and GM Omar Khan said the Steelers would like to do business with Rodgers again. Many expect a decision to be made soon by Rodgers, prior to free agency.
It seems very likely that he’ll re-sign with the Steelers. And based on the reports from Graziano and Fowler, the Vikings aren’t in the picture at all.
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