Because the Giants and Steelers have hovered because the leaders on this unusual Aaron Rodgers sweepstakes for multiple days, the long run Hall of Fame quarterback continues to be deliberating. Rodgers is well aware the Giants and Steelers have an interest, however the third team linked to him over the weekend continues to be believed to be in the combination.
Rodgers stays intrigued by playing for the Vikings, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini and Michael Silver note. Minnesota continues to guage its QB options, and we heard over the weekend Rodgers is certainly one of them. While completing the Full Favre could be make for an eerie parallel for his one-time Packers successor, Minnesota has some selling points the opposite two suitors don’t.
Kevin O’Connell is the reigning NFL Coach of the Yr, riding to that honor mostly as Sam Darnold went from bottom-tier starter and borderline draft bust to an original-ballot Pro Bowler who threw 35 touchdown passes in guiding the Vikings to a surprising 14-3 record. Darnold targeted All-Pro wide receiver Justin Jefferson, former first-rounder Jordan Addison and Pro Bowl tight end T.J. Hockenson. Longtime Rodgers teammate Aaron Jones also did heavy lifting for the 2024 Vikings, and he’s back on a two-year, $20MM deal.
Minnesota also finished with a top-five defense last season, and through per week wherein the team re-signed Byron Murphy and retained Harrison Smith, the Vikes added veteran D-linemen Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave. Brett Favre joined a Vikings team that had lost a wild-card game in 2008, albeit with a much worse record than last yr’s Minnesota edition; Rodgers could also be involved in helping a team to the next level. Though, the four-time MVP failing to achieve this in Latest York — ahead of a Wednesday release — offers a warning sign for the suitors.
Favre took the Vikings to the 2009 NFC championship game, delivering an MVP-caliber season at 40. That ended badly, with a reckless interception stalling a possible game-winning Vikings drive within the NFC championship game. But Favre delivered a powerful season at 40, beating Rodgers’ Packers twice. Unretirement No. 3 in 2010 didn’t go as well, as Favre’s ironman streak ended during a 6-10 Vikes season.
Rodgers is rumored to be involved in playing two more years, which is where a Minnesota decision would turn into complicated. Unlike in 2009 once they recruited Favre, the Vikings have a young quarterback (J.J. McCarthy) they’re planning to construct around. The 2009 Vikes had seen three Tarvaris Jackson seasons, as each a starter and backup, by that time. This Vikings regime is high on McCarthy, having centered its 2024 offseason around him before a meniscus tear entrenched Darnold at QB1. Rodgers might not be too keen on serving as a bridge who faces the chance of being benched during his first season with the team.
Chances are high, he wouldn’t face that reality in Pittsburgh. The Steelers are usually not in position to grab a starter-level QB within the draft, though certainly one of the QBs off the Cam Ward/Shedeur Sanders tier may stand up draft boards through the pre-draft process. But Rodgers could have a path, at the same time as he’ll turn 42 in December, to starting throughout for a Steelers team that has a powerful defensive nucleus — and one which just acquired D.K. Metcalf to play alongside George Pickens.
The Steelers have made their offer, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac reports, adding that cash just isn’t believed to be driving this Rodgers delay. The decorated quarterback has not publicly confirmed he even intends to play in 2025, though that has been the expectation for a bit. Although the Steelers are unlikely to essentially hand the keys to Rodgers in the way in which the Jets did, their hesitation on Russell Wilson does raise the stakes for this particular free agency pursuit.
Wilson looms as a Steelers backup option, but time could also be ticking there, too. Wilson is visiting the Browns on Thursday and Giants on Friday. While Wilson has settled in behind Rodgers inside the QB free agent hierarchy — to the purpose the Giants could be unlikely to sign him before they know they’re out of the Rodgers derby — he stays a capable starting quarterback who might be a bridge choice to a rookie.
The Vikings being within the Rodgers mix as well stands to provide the 20-year veteran a superb probability to stay a starter in 2025. While Rodgers is well off the 2012 Peyton Manning level when it comes to free agency prize, because the all-time great’s free agency decision stalled the NFL that offseason, the Rodgers free agency is slowing the marketplace for no less than one quarterback and doubtless a pair more.
The 2 teams on this derby who don’t land Rodgers figure to position an instantaneous call to Wilson’s camp. Options tail off soon after. Gardner Minshew is accessible, and Joe Flacco is involved in playing an age-40 season. The road moves to Jameis Winston, Carson Wentz and Mason Rudolph after. The Falcons proceed to carry Kirk Cousins hostage, intent on keeping him for a possible trade market.
