6 days Ago
It certainly sounds like Aaron Rodgers was interested in joining the Minnesota Vikings. There were of course rumors about the two sides after Rodgers’ exit from the New York Jets, but Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer dug even deeper on Monday. He shared that when Rodgers contacted Minnesota he pitched the idea of contending for a year while mentoring JJ McCarthy.
"Which is where Rodgers entered the equation," Breer said. "When the four-time MVP reached out to the Vikings, with the idea of making a one-year run at a Lombardi and tying it to being a willing mentor for McCarthy, the team felt it had to listen. The proposition, of course, was different than the other two—they’d be jamming the pause button on the idea of playing McCarthy, rather than generating competition and multiple quarterback options.
"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." This isn’t the most shocking idea in the world, but it is interesting to hear an insider of Breer’s caliber shed any light on major rumors like this. Minnesota has McCarthy and a Super Bowl-caliber roster intact.
The Vikings absolutely would give Rodgers his best shot at making a deep playoff run, but it sounds like his pitch didn’t work yet. The Vikings have made it clear that it’s rolling with McCarthy for now but Rodgers is still available. Is he holding out hope for a change of heart? It certainly sounds like he was interested in making the jump from New York to Minnesota if given the opportunity.
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