The Minnesota Vikings once kicked the tires on a former Green Bay Packers superstar who had failed to resurrect his career during a short stint with the New York Jets.
That player was Brett Favre, who famously unretired for a second time in August of 2009 to join the Vikings for one last kick at a Super Bowl run.
Comically, some NFL analysts believe the Vikings could run it back and do the same exact thing, some sixteen years later.
Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports recently named his top potential destinations for Aaron Rodgers, should the Jets decide to clean house and designate Rodgers as a post-June 1 cut this offseason. Benjamin didn’t only name Minnesota as a landing spot — he named it as the third-most likely scenario behind only the Tennessee Titans and retirement.
Here was Benjamin’s take on a potential blockbuster signing:
“Besides the storybook parallels to Brett Favre, who also went from Packers legend to Jets and Vikings rental to close his career, this one registers as sneakily plausible. The Vikings would surely prefer to re-sign current starter Sam Darnold, who’s fared reasonably well under Kevin O’Connell, but what if Darnold opts for a better-paying gig in 2025 free agency, confidence restored, ready to depart the lurking shadow of first-round pick J.J. McCarthy? Minnesota might still want a placeholder as McCarthy returns from knee surgery, and Rodgers would be getting a ready-made lineup with the best offensive line, skill weapons and defense he’s had in years. Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was in the San Francisco 49ers’ front office when the Niners reportedly tried to land Rodgers in 2021, and he’d also be betting on the vengeance factor, allowing Rodgers to play the Packers at least twice.”
Again, this whole idea is comical.
The Vikings are doing everything right. They’re building a winning culture, taking an 8-2 record into Week 12. They have a plan to reset at quarterback, most likely with McCarthy in 2025. They have an ascending defense that’s already playing at a championship level.
The last thing they need is the Aaron Rodgers experience. Just ask Jets fans.
Rodgers will turn 41 in December, still coming off a torn Achilles. He’s literally guiding a sinking ship out in East Rutherford, N.J., after the Jets pandered to his every want and need since the trade with Green Bay back in April of 2023.
Vikings fans know Aaron Rodgers as well as anyone. He’s a four-time MVP and sure-fire future Hall of Famer. He has also grossly underachieved in the biggest games throughout his career, going 12-10 in the playoffs while failing to get back to a Super Bowl after winning XLV with the Packers during the 2010 season.
Sure, Minnesota has the projected cap space. It could have a need for another veteran stop-gap at quarterback, at least at the start of 2025.
But the Vikings aren’t about to bail on all the momentum they’re building for a washed-up Rodgers, and everything that comes with him. No thanks.