David Levine
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Vikings decline to close the door on Aaron Rodgers, but they won’t promise him a starting job, either
Finally, there’s some subtext about what transpired between free-agent quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Minnesota Vikings. And it lends an outline to what’s unfolding right now — from Rodgers remaining in a holding pattern to the Pittsburgh Steelers staying patient in their pursuit of his services.
Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah met with the media Wednesday, offering the most expansive public view to date about what has transpired between the team and Rodgers over the past few weeks. It was a session that was hopeful in the best-laid plans for 2024 first-round draft pick J.J. McCarthy, noncommittal about definitively eliminating Rodgers from the future, and also clear when you analyze what’s going on between the lines. Which is something like this: As much as the Vikings are intrigued about adding Rodgers’ talent and experience to the fold, they won’t do it to the detriment of their plan for McCarthy being the team’s 2025 starter. And unless something changes that equation — like a McCarthy injury or some kind of catastrophic struggles in the coming months — the Vikings and Rodgers will be heading in different directions.
Adofo-Mensah didn’t put it into those precise terms, of course. As most NFL general managers do, he leaned into language that kept as many avenues as possible open. But the message was clear: Minnesota wants to go through the paces this offseason to move forward with McCarthy. And that’s just something that can’t be done with Rodgers on the roster … especially given the reality that he wants to be a starter if he plays in 2025.
“Right now, given all our scenario planning, we’re happy with our room,” Adofo-Mensah told reporters Wednesday.
“For me to sit here and say that, you know, anything is 100 percent forever — that’s just not the job, right? We’re responding to scenarios and different information as it comes. Obviously things can change but right now we’re really happy with our room and we’re going to look to upgrade it in different ways. But for now, we’re really excited.”
In one sense, it feels like a hedge by the Vikings. Those who want some definitive clarity expect a declaration along the lines of "Aaron Rodgers won’t be playing for Minnesota in 2025." But in another sense, this is Adofo-Mensah doing two things: First, being respectful to Rodgers without saying the Vikings aren’t prepared to offer him a starting job; and second, banking some wiggle room to turn toward Rodgers if any number of worst-case scenarios unfold in the coming months.
Among those scenarios: Perhaps McCarthy suffers a setback physically in the offseason program as he returns from two knee surgeries. Or maybe he struggles unexpectedly in the coming months, forcing the Vikings to contemplate embracing an extended timeline before elevating him as the team’s starter. Neither is expected, of course. But the NFL is a landscape where failing to plan for every scenario can turn into an unexpected plan for your own demise. Adofo-Mensah is trying to avoid that while also carefully weighing how to fill out the remainder of Minnesota’s quarterback room.
There’s at least some level of transparency, too. And that’s this: The Vikings want McCarthy to be their starter in 2025. But they’re not giving him the job by default after Sam Darnold’s departure to the Seattle Seahawks and Daniel Jones signing with the Indianapolis Colts.
“When we pooled the resources we did to draft J.J. and you go through that long process and all those things, I can stand up here and say that’s the outcome we want and that’s the outcome we’re headed towards,” Adofo-Mensah said. “At every checkpoint, whether it had been the draft process or practice until the injury or really the offseason now, he’s met the bar. He’s exceeded our expectations at every point.
“I don’t have the ability to tell you what the future is. But I can tell you what I expect to be the outcome this offseason from the competition. But it’s also our job to set up a quarterback room that’s going to be able to meet, have great ideas and prepare whoever it is to play — but also provide insurance in case someone needs to come in for a couple games. That’s our job as a personnel department, to look at all the options out there and make sure we’re setting ourselves up for the best case we can.”
That’s a wordy way of saying that Minnesota’s intent is for McCarthy to be the team’s starter, with a supporting quarterback room that provides a sold veteran backup at the No. 2 spot, and Brett Rypien at No. 3 to fill out the depth chart. If Rodgers were willing to be a supportive backup — or more appropriately, if it made sense for him to be an understudy — he’d be in the picture. He doesn’t want to be … nor does it make sense for him to be … so he won’t be. For now. And that’s ultimately what unfolded during his conversations with Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell.
“We got to a place [with Rodgers] where we just said, everybody was transparent but right now we feel good about where we’re going,” Adofo-Mensah said. “That’s really how it ended. You know, it’s ultimately up to him [if he wants to sign with another team]. It’s hard to talk about a player who’s not under contract for our team and obviously isn’t a member of this team. It’s ultimately up to him what he decides to do with his future. That’s kind of where we left it. I know Kevin and him have a great relationship still. They’ll still have a relationship. They’ll keep talking, but right now I’m focused on the two players that are in the room right now.”
What that means for Rodgers is that he’s obliged to sit, wait and watch from afar. At least as long as Minnesota hasn’t signed another veteran quarterback into the backup spot behind McCarthy — which it eventually intends to do once that free agency addition doesn’t impact the team’s future compensatory pick equation. That deadline traditionally comes in May. Maybe that player will be Rodgers, once he doesn’t count against a future comp pick for the franchise. Maybe it will be one of several veterans who are still on the market and can provide the ability to support McCarthy and start some games in a pinch.
What is clear at this moment is that any signing is not meant to disrupt the Vikings’ plan to make McCarthy their 2025 starter. For Rodgers, it means the door to landing in Minnesota isn’t closed. But ajar or not, there isn’t currently a clear path to a starting spot with the Vikings.
https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/article/vikings-decline-to-close-the-door-on-aaron-rodgers-but-they-wont-promise-him-a-starting-job-either-062209105.html
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