Aug 16, 2013; Orchard Park, NY, USA; A general view a Minnesota Vikings helmet during the second half against the Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Bills beat the Vikings 20-16. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports.
If your dream involves Aaron Rodgers quarterbacking the Minnesota Vikings before the end of his career, it’s probably a longshot.
That’s the word from KSTP’s Darren Wolfson this week, who diligently covers the purple team and all Minnesota sports.
Wolfson told SKOR North on Thursday he did not “see any scenario where Aaron Rodgers lands here in Minnesota next year.”
And Wolfson’s assurances make sense. Eight months ago, the Vikings selected Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy in Round 1 of the 2024 NFL Draft while packaging the offense with Sam Darnold as a veteran patchover passer. Then in August, McCarthy tore his meniscus, canceling his participation in 2024 altogether. Darnold took the QB1 reins and ranks 11th leaguewide per EPA+CPOE.
McCarthy is nearly 20 years younger than Rodgers, and Minnesota will already have a debate on its hands to determine if Darnold will return for a second season in the Twin Cities. Adding an elderly-by-NFL-standards Rodgers seems like backward thinking.
Still, Rodgers-to-Minnesota theories are already prevalent. The New York Jets, Rodgers’ current employer, fired general manager Joe Douglas this week, almost certainly making the Rodgers era in New Jersey a two-year trial. The next boss likely won’t run it back with Rodgers because he or she will want a blank canvas at head coach at QB1. That’s the working theory, anyway.
Popular Packers podcaster Andy Herman started the Rodgers-Vikings fun on X after Douglas’ termination a few days ago: “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.”
McCarthy did not have a “second surgery,” instead receiving a standard post-surgery injection last week.
“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,” Herman added.
Herman wasn’t alone, either. A much more prominent voice spitballed Rodgers to the Vikings, as well. ESPN’s Rich Cimini tweeted, “With a totally new regime in 2025, it likely means Aaron Rodgers won’t be back. A new GM and new HC will probably want their own QB. Rodgers has a good relationship with Douglas, and last week he advocated for Jeff Ulbrich — and it’s hard to imagine him wanting to even be back.”
And ESPN’s Kevin Seifert, who covers the Vikings, quickly retweeted, “👀. Vikings have one QB under contract for 2025 and he has never played a down of regular-season NFL football. It’s happening.”
On the whole, Vikings fans’ 2025 quarterback debates shouldn’t lasso “Rodgers or McCarthy.” They should be focused on whether Minnesota will let it rip with McCarthy alone or find a way to retain Darnold as insurance.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.