Early on in the NFL offseason, the Minnesota Vikings were linked quite often to future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers. While the rumors were there and the team did look into the option, the Vikings chose not to pursue signing him.
Instead, the franchise opted to move forward with second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy leading the way. They are very confident in his ability and decided that signing Rodgers would not be in the best interest of the team.
Kevin O’Connell and Rodgers are friends. The pairing with Rodgers would have made a lot of sense, but not necessarily with McCarthy on the roster ready to play.
With Rodgers now officially joining the Pittsburgh Steelers, O’Connell was asked about the team’s rumored interest in the 41-year-old quarterback. He spoke out and offered some additional details about the situation.
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“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, but it always was centered around what was best not only for the present in the Minnesota Vikings organization, but the future,” O’Connell said.
He continued on, revealing more about his conversations with Rodgers when it comes to McCarthy specifically.
“I was very honest about my feelings towards J.J., 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. We stayed in touch and had some communication,” he said. “Out of respect for our friendship and everything, that’s about as much as really kind of happened.”
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Last season, Minnesota was one of the best teams in the NFL. O’Connell and company finished the year with a 14-3 record with Sam Darnold leading the way.
McCarthy is a completely unproven quarterback with huge upside. He was drafted with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft to be the team’s long-term starter, but missed all of last year due to a knee injury suffered in the preseason.
Even though Rodgers could have come in and given the Vikings a legitimate shot at a Super Bowl, they wanted to go all-in with McCarthy. It will be interesting to see how that choice pays off for the organization.
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