{"id":748925,"date":"2026-02-13T09:39:25","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T09:39:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/748925\/"},"modified":"2026-02-13T09:39:25","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T09:39:25","slug":"aaron-rodgers-free-agency-rumors-espn-insider-suggests-minnesota-vikings-as-possible-contender-for-legendary-qb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/748925\/","title":{"rendered":"Aaron Rodgers free agency rumors: ESPN insider suggests Minnesota Vikings as possible contender for legendary QB"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aaron Rodgers<\/a>\u2018 future is uncertain. Rodgers signed a one-year deal with the Steelers ahead of the 2025-26 campaign and had a solid season. However, after the season, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin stepped down and was replaced by Mike McCarthy, who Rodgers won a Super Bowl with in Green Bay.<\/p>\n

Rodgers previously indicated that the 2025-26 season would be his last. Yet, he still hasn\u2019t officially announced his retirement and some insiders expect him to suit up again next season. During an appearance on Get Up<\/a>, ESPN\u2019s Jeremy Fowler revealed the Minnesota Vikings could be interested in signing Rodgers.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year, [Minnesota] looked at Rodgers,\u201d Fowler said. \u201cThere were some people in the building that wanted Aaron Rodgers last year. He wanted Minnesota. The GM, who is now gone, they have to fill that spot. But, Kevin O\u2019Connell, the head coach, has a lot of influence over there. If they strike out with some other options and strictly need a bridge and they develop JJ [McCarthy]<\/a>, do you go with Rodgers?\u201d<\/p>\n

Rodgers would be a viable option. At 42 years old, Rodgers had a stellar campaign for the Steelers, completing 65.7% of his pass attempts for 3,322 yards and 24 touchdowns, compared to seven interceptions.<\/p>\n

In contrast, Vikings rookie quarterback JJ McCarthy recorded 1,632 passing yards and 11 touchdowns, while throwing 12 interceptions. If the Vikings want to continue to develop McCarthy, but aren\u2019t confident in him quite yet, they could sign Rodgers.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, the Vikings could have competition for Rodgers\u2019 interest. Mike McCarthy was complimentary of Rodgers when asked if he\u2019d be the ideal QB1 in Pittsburgh next season.<\/p>\n

\u201cDefinitely,\u201d McCarthy replied. \u201cI don\u2019t see why you wouldn\u2019t. \u2026 I watched most of the Pittsburgh games on TV and I thought he was a great asset for the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Steelers posted a 10-7 regular-season record before falling to the Houston Texans in the AFC Wild Card round of the playoffs. Mike McCarthy isn\u2019t rushing Aaron Rodgers to make a decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen guys are up at that stage in their career, they need to step away and decompress a bit,\u201d McCarthy said. \u201cI think that\u2019s very important. The game is so emotional. What these men commit to and what they put into it, I think that time away is important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rodgers weighed his options deep into the offseason last year before ultimately signing with the Steelers. Fans shouldn\u2019t be surprised if the four-time MVP opts to do the same this offseason.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Aaron Rodgers\u2018 future is uncertain. Rodgers signed a one-year deal with the Steelers ahead of the 2025-26 campaign…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":748926,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2073],"tags":[26260,7,233,259,2529,6,234],"class_list":{"0":"post-748925","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-minnesota-vikings","8":"tag-aaron-rodgers-02-pleasant-valley","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-minnesota","11":"tag-minnesota-vikings","12":"tag-minnesotavikings","13":"tag-nfl","14":"tag-vikings"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116062661113510285","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/748925","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=748925"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/748925\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/748926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=748925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=748925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=748925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}