Jan 1, 2023; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) greets Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) following the game at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
In an offseason of turnover in the Vikings organization, another NFC North team may also undergo a huge transition. Aaron Rodgers, one of the all-time great players in NFL history, may no longer be a problem for the Vikings.
For the third straight year, the saga of Rodgers’ future is a dominant topic in league news. The speculations about a possible retirement or the attempts to find a new team started immediately after the Packers lost to the Detroit Lions and therefore missed the playoffs.
Rodgers didn’t look like his old self in 2022. A thumb injury and the lack of receivers may have played a role. However, he is 39 years old, and diminishing skills are just as, if not even more, likely.
NFL insider Adam Schefter talked on ESPN’s ‘Postseason NFL Countdown‘ about the quarterback’s future.
This will be the third straight offseason in which Aaron Rodgers’ future is the subject of much speculation. But make no mistake, both sides are fully aware that a trade is a very real scenario this offseason for Aaron Rodgers.
The Packers are expected to move on from certain players, which Aaron Rodgers probably will not like. The issue here would be the $110 million left on his contract, and which team could afford it. But there is a real possibility that at some point this offseason Aaron Rodgers is going to be traded.
Adam Schefter about Aaron Rodgers
Throughout his career, the Vikings fought all kinds of battles with their longstanding nemesis. Rodgers started 29 games against the purple team, including a postseason contest when he ended the Vikings’ hopes that MVP Adrian Peterson could carry a Joe Webb-quarterbacked team in the 2012 playoffs.
His career stats against the Vikings are remarkable. He threw for 7,431 passing yards and completed 68.1% of his passes. However, the most outstanding part of his stat line is his touchdown to interception ratio. Over the years, he collected 58 passing touchdowns and just eight interceptions. His passer rating is 108.3, a ridiculous number in such a high number of games.
The overall record of the Rodgers-led Packers against the Vikings is 18-11-1. It was a lopsided rivalry before Mike Zimmer arrived. Zimmer’s Vikings were 6-8-1, and O’Connell’s teams are 1-1. All other Vikings coaches before Zimmer were 4-9.
Rodgers is an all-time great quarterback who thinks he can still play at an MVP level, an award he won four times, including in back-to-back seasons in 2020 and 2021. Some folks took offense to those words, as the goal should be a Super Bowl championship. Rodgers is a one-time champion, a respectable feat but a low number for a great quarterback like Rodgers.
He hasn’t been back to the Super Bowl in over a decade, which highlights the team aspect of football. While he wasn’t always his best self in the playoffs, his defenses let him down multiple times, and he had an unfortunate loss against the Seahawks in the 2014 NFC Championship game.
If Rodgers is indeed traded, Jordan Love will be his successor. Packers GM Brian Gutekunst selected Love in the first round of the 2020 draft without needing a new quarterback. That is how the Packers do business. He sat behind Rodgers for three seasons, the same thing the Packers did with Rodgers, who sat behind Favre for the same three campaigns after his draft.
Rodgers hasn’t ruled out retirement, and a trade seems to be an option, too. No matter what the future holds, it would be a strange experience for the Vikings to face the Packers without Rodgers under center.
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and Classic rock is his music genre of choice. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt