Report: Vikings 'Possible' for Aaron Rodgers but 'Probably' Out Due to J.J. McCarthy

As the NFL world continues to wait for Aaron Rodgers to make a decision, the Minnesota Vikings reportedly remain something of a wild card even though they will "probably not" get heavily involved.

"I'm told from sources that Rodgers does have standing offers from the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants," ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported during a Sunday appearance on SportsCenter. I checked with the source from one of those teams about a timeline for Rodgers. I got back a text with the Webster's dictionary of the word enigma. and so that's kind of the feeling right now. 

"Teams are waiting this out, waiting on Rodgers. The feeling is there's not just a money consideration here. There's fit, there's surroundings, all those things. Minnesota Vikings are sort of on the periphery here. Sources there tell me that it's possible they get involved with Rodgers, but the feeling this week has been probably not. They want to develop J.J. McCarthy."

This comes after Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported Saturday that both the Steelers and Giants are waiting while Rodgers seeks "clarity regarding the Vikings' situation."

It is not hard to see why Minnesota would be a desirable landing spot from the veteran's perspective.

The NFC North team is loaded with offensive weapons with Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Aaron Jones and T.J. Hockenson and has an offensive-minded head coach in Kevin O'Connell. Sam Darnold struggled for most of his career prior to joining the Vikings last season and then went 14-3 as a starter while playing at a high level.

It is perfectly tailored for quarterback success and would allow Rodgers to chase a second Super Bowl ring late in his career.

However, Minnesota also has to want him to make that happen. And it will eventually want to see what it has in J.J. McCarthy, who was the No. 10 overall pick of the 2024 NFL draft but missed his rookie season due to a knee injury.

Adding Rodgers for even a year or two would only delay his development and move the Vikings' closer to when they had to make a decision on the Michigan product's rookie contract without as much evidence for what he can do on the field.

Given that reality, Rodgers may have to choose between the Steelers and Vikings.

Pittsburgh would likely be the better option if he is looking for championship chances seeing how it went to the playoffs last season and has DK Metcalf and George Pickens on the outside. Yet he just played for the New York Jets the past two seasons and would get to stay put if he joined the Giants.