The biggest dominoes of the NFL offseason have mostly fallen, with trades, free agent signings, and massive extensions being made all across the league this week.
But one domino remains standing tall, unmoved, and showing no signs yet of tipping: Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers is officially out with the New York Jets, that much we know. What we don’t know is where he will land next year, and some reporters have expressed that they’re tired of waiting to find out.
So what’s the hold up? The delay, in part, could stem from indecision, as several reports shape an interesting narrative between Rodgers and one of his potential suitors.
In the current NFL landscape, accounting for the first few waves of offseason moves, three teams have been largely identified as potential teams that would have interest in Rodgers: the Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants, and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Earlier this week, NFL insider Adam Schefter appeared to pour cold water on the Vikings connection while speaking with ESPN Milwaukee.
“I’m not including Minnesota in the Aaron Rodgers conversation until I have a reason to,” Schefter said. “There are no absolutes at this time of year, anything could always happen. But I just don’t view them as a primary option right now. Minnesota, to me, is setting sail with J.J. McCarthy.”
Amid the speculation, @AdamSchefter was on @ESPNMilwaukee earlier today and this was his view on the Aaron Rodgers to Minnesota steam… pic.twitter.com/aZOOAclX53
— Nick Miller (@NicholasMMiller) March 12, 2025
But per a pair of other NFL insiders—Dianna Russini and Mike Silver of The Athletic—the math isn’t that simple, as they reported on Wednesday that the Vikings were in fact weighing bringing in Rodgers, along with a few other potential veteran options to pair with J.J. McCarthy.
The Vikings are weighing the possibility of signing Aaron Rodgers as they ponder potential veteran options at quarterback to pair with J.J. McCarthy, sources tell @DMRussini and @MikeSilver.
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) March 12, 2025
Rodgers is intrigued by the possibility of playing for Minnesota. pic.twitter.com/OM0tpFSUG5
Silver expanded on the report while speaking with the show Joe & Q on Thursday.
“That is really up to Kevin O’Connell and the decision makers in the Vikings building,” Silver said. “We believe that Aaron Rodgers’s first choice is to play for the Vikings. This is something that they are strongly considering and weighing.”
Given the departures of Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones in free agency, there is an undeniable need for another quarterback in the Vikings locker room, but whether they want to shake things up with Rodgers is obviously a more complicated decision.
“With a team built to win now, and obviously a great quarterback expert in Kevin O’Connell, the reigning coach of the year, and with one of the all-time great quarterbacks sitting out there, it is a very enticing prospect,” Silver said. “I think the situation is the Vikings are trying to decide, and that could go either way. If the Vikings decide that they want Rodgers, I think it’s very likely that will happen.”
NFL Insider @MikeSilver expands on the @Vikings and Aaron Rodgers situation and how Minnesota is “strongly considering and weighing” this option of bringing him in.
— The Purple Persuasion (@TPPSkol) March 14, 2025
Silver notes that Rodgers first choice is to play for the Vikings and also notes he could see it “going both ways”… pic.twitter.com/h192ZNsxA0
So where does that leave us?
On one side, Schefter doesn’t seem to think that the Vikings are really in the market for Rodgers, and are more than comfortable rolling into 2025 with McCarthy as the team’s undeniable starter. On the other, Russini and Silver believe that the Vikings are considering the possibility of Rodgers, and that the interest is very much there on Rodgers’s part should Minnesota make the call.
This is the NFL offseason, and this is Aaron Rodgers, so obviously, this could still go in any direction. While Rodgers’s tenure with the Jets was an undeniable disappointment, he showed flashes of his old self late in the season, and given the talent in the Vikings receiving corps, it is not hard to imagine him gelling instantly in a new home.
That said, the lows with Rodgers the past few years have been extremely low, and bringing in a veteran that is far from a sure bet to immediately overtake the starting role from the young player your franchise has already designated as the quarterback of the future is a completely different type of risky move.
For now, the Vikings will think, the fans will watch our phones for more updates, and Rodgers will, presumably, continue to ponder the sea.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Aaron Rodgers and the Vikings Are the 'Will They, Won’t They' of the NFL Offseason.