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Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell has made it clear that he thinking long-term for the franchise(Image: Mike Carlson\/Getty Images)<\/p>\nMinnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell has made it clear that he is thinking long-term for the franchise, after they opted against signing Aaron Rodgers this offseasonVikings head coach Kevin O’Connell has made it clear that he thinking long-term for the franchise(Image: Mike Carlson\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
The Minnesota Vikings<\/a> turned down the chance to sign quarterback Aaron Rodgers<\/a>, with head coach Kevin O’Connell insisting the move would not have been best for the “future” of the franchise.<\/p>\n Released by the New York Jets<\/a> in March, Rodgers was eventually picked up by the Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a> this week, inking a $13.65 million contract after links to the Vikings<\/a>. But the 41-year-old quarterback has already suffered a setback in Pittsburgh<\/a>.<\/p>\n Coach O’Connell has since confirmed 22-year-old J.J. McCarthy as the starting quarterback for the upcoming season, who is 19 years Rodgers’ junior<\/a>. Rodgers, a four-time MVP, is close friends with the Vikings head coach, having known the former QB for almost two decades, and the pair discussed a potential professional partnership during this offseason.<\/p>\n U.S. Open organizers make announcement after Bryson DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy discovery<\/a> Caitlin Clark has made her feelings clear on Angel Reese as she’s forced to miss game<\/a><\/p>\n “When there was an opportunity, when him and I connected this offseason just to kind of talk about what that would look like, we had a lot of great dialogue about it,” O’Connell told Minneapolis radio station KFAN-FM 100.3.<\/p>\n “But, it always was centered around what was best not only for the present in the Minnesota Vikings organization, but the future.<\/p>\n “I was very honest about my feelings toward JJ, my obligation that I felt like we were going to give him the best possible situation to begin and thrive on this NFL journey and let’s see where it goes.<\/p>\n “We stayed in touch and had some communication.”<\/p>\n Minnesota saw out a 14-3 season with Sam Darnold at quarterback in the NFC North, eventually being toppled by the Los Angeles Rams in the wildcard playoff game.<\/p>\n Darnold, the 27-year-old Pro Bowl selection, went on to put pen to paper on a three-year, $100.5 million deal with the Seattle Seahawks, leaving the door open for a potential Rodgers deal to be agreed.<\/p>\n Coach O’Connell added: “Out of respect for our friendship and everything, that’s about as much as really kind of happened [with Rodgers]. I still talk to him and the next time I talk to him it’s going to be the same old, same old.<\/p>\n “He’s different than people probably think, but I think that’s all part of it in this day and age.”<\/p>\n With the coach’s mind being firmly set on the future, McCarthy is set to be promoted and replace Darnold, more than a year since being drafted by the Vikings with the 10th overall pick.<\/p>\n The 22-year-old is “having a great spring,” according to O’Connell, who continued: “We’re pretty darn close to having a good feel for where he’s at.<\/p>\n “He’s had a great offseason. He’s healthy, strong, throwing the ball great, fundamentals \u2014 everything you hope for in the spring.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell has made it clear that he is thinking long-term for the franchise,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":114421,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2073],"tags":[1586,7,14276,1519,58,233,259,2529,6,15,57,234],"class_list":{"0":"post-114420","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-minnesota-vikings","8":"tag-aaron-rodgers","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-fox-nfl-sunday","11":"tag-j-j-mccarthy","12":"tag-los-angeles-rams","13":"tag-minnesota","14":"tag-minnesota-vikings","15":"tag-minnesotavikings","16":"tag-nfl","17":"tag-nfl-draft","18":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","19":"tag-vikings"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114649576679555475","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114420"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114420\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"J.J.](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/0_GettyImages-2166934592.jpg\")
J.J. McCarthy is set to be the starting quarterback for the Vikings.(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n