While it’s now clear that the Pittsburgh Steelers hope and expect that they’ll eventually have Aaron Rodgers as their starting quarterback for the 2025 NFL season, outsiders continue to believe Rodgers is waiting for the Minnesota Vikings to decide if they’re ready to turn to 2024 first-round draft choice J.J. McCarthy coming off the full meniscus repair that sidelined McCarthy for all of this past campaign.
During a Sunday appearance on ESPN’s “SportsCenter,” NFL insider Jeremy Fowler indicated that Rodgers should see the writing on the wall regarding his options this spring.
“When I talked to people with the Vikings, this is all but dead for them, essentially,” Fowler said about Minnesota’s current interest level in possibly signing Rodgers, as shared by Joe Clark of Steelers Depot. “Maybe if he’s available later in the summer they would revisit, but that just seems unlikely at this point. It’s Steelers, retirement or bust [for Rodgers].”
During the NFL owners meetings that wrapped up last week, Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah spoke highly of McCarthy but also seemingly was careful not to completely slam the door shut on possibly reaching out to Rodgers at some point before training camp begins. However, it’s believed McCarthy “would have to demonstrate overwhelming evidence this spring that he will not be ready to play this season” or would have to suffer some type of physical setback to lose the QB1 job to the future Hall of Famer.
This past Thursday, NFL insider Dianna Russini of The Athletic hinted that Rodgers went into the weekend unsigned simply because the Steelers haven’t yet matched his asking price regarding what may become the final contract of his playing career. Assuming he’s fully recovered from the injury issues he dealt with during the 2024 campaign, Rodgers would instantly become the best quarterback on a roster that also includes longtime backup Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson.
One would think Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin would like his new starting quarterback to be in the building when Pittsburgh’s voluntary offseason workout programs begin on April 21. Rodgers is a free agent who technically doesn’t owe the Steelers anything, but it sounds like his services won’t be needed by the Vikings unless disaster strikes that organization this spring or summer.