NFL Insider Reveals Aaron Rodgers’ Pitch to Vikings
Unless there’s a change of plan, the Minnesota Vikings appear to be out of the running in the Aaron Rodgers sweepstakes. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reported that Minnesota shut down Aaron Rodgers’ pitch to make a one-year run at a Super Bowl and serve as a mentor for J.J. McCarthy.
“Which is where Rodgers entered the equation. 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,” Breer wrote.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported last week that the Vikings are no longer in serious pursuit of Rodgers, and his pending choice is simply between signing with the Steelers or not playing at all.
“The Minnesota Vikings, is [Rodgers] waiting them out? That is sort of a lingering question out there, but when I talked to people with the Vikings, this is all but dead for them, essentially,” Fowler said on SportsCenter on Monday. “Maybe if he’s available later in the summer, they would revisit, but just seems unlikely at this point. So it’s Steelers, retirement or bust.”
The Steelers remain optimistic that they’ll eventually be able to sign Rodgers after his visit to Pittsburgh in March. With the Vikings not in the running, there is basically no where else for Rodgers to go where he would have easy access to playing time this year.
“We keep hearing that he’s, I guess, headed in our direction. That seems to be all signs are positive so far,” president Art Rooney II said on Tuesday at the NFL owner’s meetings. “We keep getting positive sort-of signals about it. I’d say we feel pretty good about it.”
Alan Saunders contributed reporting for this story.