With Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets heading for a breakup this offseason, the sharks are starting to circle.
One popular rumor on social media involves the Jets potentially trading Rodgers to the Minnesota Vikings in 2025.
“Maybe they hold onto him, ya know, perhaps to trade him [Aaron Rodgers]? I think Rodgers will look at the market and see what is out there. That’s a tough one, for a coach to take on Aaron Rodgers. I mean the coach has to be extremely secure in his position to do something like that. I saw someone floated yesterday Minnesota as a possibility. They are going to lose [Sam] Darnold. Maybe J.J. McCarthy isn’t ready to take over. Do you bring in an Aaron Rodgers for a year? So [Kevin] O’Connell [is] seemingly entrenched there, maybe that is a possibility,” ESPN’s Rich Cimini told Jake Asman on “The Jake Asman Show.”
Kevin Seifert, who covers the Vikings for ESPN, stoked the flames on X previously Twitter.
“👀 Vikings have one QB under contract for 2025 and he has never played a down of regular-season NFL football. It’s happening. 😏,” Seifert posted in response to Cimini’s post about Rodgers not returning to the Jets next season.
Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports listed the Vikings as one of the top destinations for acquiring Rodgers if he becomes available this offseason.
“This one registers as sneakily plausible. The Vikings would surely prefer to re-sign current starter Sam Darnold, who’s fared reasonably well under Kevin O’Connell, but what if Darnold opts for a better-paying gig in 2025 free agency, confidence restored, ready to depart the lurking shadow of first-round pick J.J. McCarthy? Minnesota might still want a placeholder as McCarthy returns from knee surgery, and Rodgers would be getting a ready-made lineup with the best offensive line, skill weapons and defense he’s had in years. Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was in the San Francisco 49ers’ front office when the Niners reportedly tried to land Rodgers in 2021, and he’d also be betting on the vengeance factor, allowing Rodgers to play the Packers at least twice,” Benjamin explained.
Jets and Rodgers Are Destined to Part Ways
For better or worse, the Jets are hitting the complete reset button this offseason.
They already fired head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas. Their next target appears to be Rodgers.
“No Jake, I don’t see any scenario where [Rodgers] is back next year,” Cimini said on “The Jake Asman Show.”
Rodgers, 40, will turn 41 on December 2. He has one year left on his contract for 2025, but the base salary is only $2.5 million.
If the Jets want to cut Rodgers, they can, there isn’t any guaranteed money left. However, in a best-case scenario, they’d love to trade him and get something.
The value wouldn’t be very high; maybe a mid-round draft pick. Gang Green would also be battling against supply and demand. How many teams are going to want an older quarterback? Especially everything that comes with Rodgers.
The Vikings make a lot of sense and it would complete the Brett Favre original storyline. After Favre left the Jets, he went over to the Vikings.
Favre Had Great Success With Vikings
The legendary former Green Bay Packers quarterback teased Jets fans. In 2008, Favre led the Jets to an 8-3 record with dreams of hoisting the Lombardi.
However, it all fell apart with the Jets finishing 1-4 down the stretch to miss the playoffs completely. Favre had a torn biceps that he played through and his play regressed.
He had 22 touchdowns, 22 interceptions, completed 65.7% of his passes, and threw for 3,472 passing yards. At the ripe age of 39, a lot of people thought he was done.
However the very next year he landed with the Vikings as a 40-year-old quarterback and went on to have arguably the greatest single season of his career.
In 2009 he completed 68.4% of his passes, threw for 4,202 passing yards, and had 33 touchdowns to just seven interceptions. Favre was in the MVP conversation and took the Vikings to the NFC Championship game.
A Jets-Vikings Rodgers trade admittingly on the surface sounds crazy but maybe it’s just so crazy it just might work.
“We are way closer to Aaron Rodgers the Minnesota Viking than I think people realize. The scenario is actually crazy possible.
JJ McCarthy is the Vikings future QB, but he just had to have a second surgery on his knee… not ideal and he would be inheriting a very good team as a rookie QB who probably isn’t quite ready and is coming off a major injury in 2025.
Meanwhile, Sam Darnold has every right to want to demand a long term deal from his next team – something the Vikings may not be willing to do given that JJ McCarthy is in fact their next franchise QB.
What the Vikings would need would be a one-year stop gap QB while McCarthy sits and gets ready for one more year.
And look who would just happen to be available,” Packers analyst Andy Herman wrote on social media.
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