EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — Even on his day off, Isaiah Rodgers was playing defense.
His opponent was an unusual one, though. And much more a new friend than an adversary. The veteran defensive back in his first season with the Vikings repeatedly shuffled his feet, swerved around several corners and tried with all his might (we’re only kidding) to gently tackle a 2-and-a-half-year-old boy named Azari.
Like a kid in a candy store, but at SCHEELS (which coincidentally has a candy store in it), there were a million things tempting the toddler: neon green sneakers the size of a computer mouse, a toy firetruck and figurines of animals.
“I was a little upset when he walked past the WWE items, but it’s a different era now. I was hoping he’d pick up one so I could be a kid in that moment,” Rodgers said, his voice trailing off before perking back up. “But seeing how smart he is, knowing all the different dinosaurs … it makes me relate back to my kids.”
Standing still for a rare second, he added, “Just to see the smile on his face puts a smile on mine.”
Rodgers, along with teammates Jalen Nailor, T.J. Hockenson, Blake Cashman and Levi Drake Rodriguez, dedicated about an hour each at different times last Tuesday to guide single mothers, who are currently enrolled in college courses through the Jeremiah Program, and their children around SCHEELS. Jeremiah Program provides stability for single-parent families two generations at a time. The families were picked via a randomized drawing and received a $1,000 stipend from the Vikings and SCHEELS to pack shopping carts to the brim.