Former New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers seemingly has one much less workforce to select from in NFL free company. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (h/t Nick Shook) reported Wednesday that the Minnesota Vikings are “not pursuing Rodgers” and can as a substitute deal with J.J. McCarthy, regardless of the 2024 first-round draft choose not taking part in as a rookie after undergoing full meniscus restore final summer time.
ESPN NFL analyst Bill Barnwell instructed that Rodgers and the Vikings had been by no means a fantastic match for one another within the first place.
“The Jets ran a static offense that attempted to compensate for his lack of mobility after the Achilles damage (in September 2023),” Barnwell wrote about Rodgers. “In addition they performed to Rodgers’ wishes by having little pre-snap movement and avoiding performs underneath heart. The Vikings aren’t that offense. They ranked ninth within the league in movement share (64.2%) and fifth in play-action price (29.6%) final season. They had been underneath heart on 48% of their snaps. The Jets had been underneath heart about half as usually. A 31-year-old Rodgers might need simply tailored to (Minnesota head coach Kevin O’Connell’s) type. Would a 41-year-old Rodgers have the identical flexibility?”
O’Connell and Co. might have had comparable questions concerning the future Corridor of Famer after Sam Darnold, 27, guided the membership to a 14-3 season. The Vikings let Darnold attain free company earlier this month, and he finally signed a three-year, $100.5M contract with the Seattle Seahawks.
ESPN’s Jordan Raanan shared that Rodgers’ “precedence is that he ‘needs to win.'” Justin Fields and Russell Wilson helped the 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers get to 10-3 earlier than that membership closed its season with a five-game dropping streak, whereas the New York Giants are coming off a 3-14 marketing campaign.
“The Steelers are the higher choice,” Barnwell added about Rodgers’ ongoing offseason journey. “They’ve posted the league’s second-best successful share over the previous 4 years when scoring at the very least 20 factors (.839). …As a secure pair of fingers who will not blow the sport, Rodgers makes some sense in Pittsburgh. The Steelers thrive once they win or tie the turnover battle, and he has one of the best interception price (1.4%) in NFL historical past. Even all through the failures final season, he adopted a sluggish begin by defending the soccer. He threw 18 touchdowns towards 4 picks over his last 10 video games. That model of Rodgers would win much more video games in Pittsburgh than he did in New York (5 final season).”
Maybe Pittsburgh was all the time one of the best touchdown spot for Rodgers, no matter his need to affix the Vikings this offseason. That stated, the four-time common season Most Helpful Participant may resolve he is taken enough punishment all through his prolonged NFL profession and choose retirement over that includes for the Steelers or Giants.
