Ben Roethlisberger Reveals “Secret” QB Take for Vikings
If the 2025 regular season kicked off this weekend, the Pittsburgh Steelers would start Mason Rudolph at the most important position in sports.
Ben Roethlisberger Reveals “Secret” QB Take for Vikings
Of course, the 2025 NFL Draft has not yet occurred, and while free agency is mostly in the rearview, teams can still add more players. The Steelers have about five months to find a non-Rudolph quarterback.
And according to legendary Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, Aaron Rodgers will ultimately sign in Pittsburgh. It’s just that Roethlisberger thinks Rodgers secretly wants the Vikings as his first choice.
Aaron Rodgers Secretly Wants Vikings, per Ben Roethlisberger
Rodgers has twisted in the Vikings’ and Steelers’ rumor mills for about a month — it’s exhausting — and he’ll likely choose Pittsburgh before too long. But Roethlisberger opined on the Rodgers sweepstakes this week.
“I think Aaron secretly is still holding out for Minnesota, which is why he hasn’t signed with the Steelers. Why else would you go throw with DK and be working out and put it out, blast it to everybody that I’m throwing to these guys, but you won’t sign?” Roethlisberger said on his podcast this week.
“I just think he thinks that Minnesota is a more complete, closer team to win a Super Bowl. And it might not be wrong.”
The Vikings loaded up in free agency, fortifying the offensive and defensive trenches with players like Will Fries, Ryan Kelly, Jonathan Allen, and Javon Hargave. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah also swung a trade for running back Jordan Mason with the San Francisco 49ers.
Minnesota suddenly has a Super Bowl-caliber roster if the quarterback play comes through. Rodgers evidently agrees, if Roethlisberger’s theory can be trusted.
Roethlisberger added about Rodgers’ diminishing free agency: “To be honest with you, not really a lot of options out there for you.”
Vikings Entertained Rodgers as QB1 Solution
Rodgers swarmed Minnesota’s rumor mill in March, convincing about 10%-15% of fans that Adofo-Mensah should sign him and let ‘er rip for a season. Sixteen years ago, Minnesota signed Brett Favre and damn near reached the Super Bowl. Some think Rodgers in Minnesota would follow suit.
Adofo-Mensah recently mentioned that he, his staff, and the Vikings coaches did their homework on Rodgers but later decided that he wasn’t a fit at this time. The Vikings seem to want Rodgers to remain within reaching distance — a phone call away — in case McCarthy encountered another injury. McCarthy missed all of 2024 with a torn meniscus.
It was also revealed that Rodgers and O’Connell have known each other forever and maintain a good relationship, if not a friendship.
J.J. McCarthy Ultimately “The Guy”
Thanks to recent press conferences and interviews from Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell, McCarthy as the 2025 QB1 is no longer a mystery.
The team has claimed that McCarthy has exceeded expectations every step of the way this offseason and that his injury recovery has featured no major hiccups. By shunning the would-be Rodgers contract, which was probably quite alluring for some purple decision-makers, Minnesota handed the QB1 baton to McCarthy, who the team drafted in Round 1 one year ago.
Steelers Play the Waiting Game
Steelers owner Art Rooney said this week about Rodgers, “We keep hearing that he’s, I guess, headed in our direction, and so that seems to indicate that all signs are positive so far.”
NFL.com’s Eric Edholm wrote about the Rodgers saga, “The Steelers, meanwhile, moved on from the Russell Wilson-Justin Fields duo this offseason and have only two quarterbacks currently on the roster: Mason Rudolph, who re-signed with the team this offseason, and Skylar Thompson, who was signed to a futures contract in January.”
“With the draft closing in on three weeks away and offseason programs starting this month, the Steelers continue to wait for Rodgers’ decision.”
So, the Steelers wait while Rodgers ends his secret admiration for the Vikings, as described by Roethlisberger.
Don’t Rule Out Draft for Steelers’ QB
ESPN’s Field Yates connected the Steelers to Ole Miss passer Jaxson Dart in Round 1 in his latest mock draft.
“While it seems the Steelers are the most likely landing spot for Aaron Rodgers, signing him would not preclude them from looking toward the future at quarterback. Rodgers is 41 years old, and each coming season is a true year-to-year proposition,” Yates explained.
“But Pittsburgh hasn’t even signed Rodgers yet, meaning Mason Rudolph is the current QB1. Let’s lock up another signal-caller for the Steelers here.”
Therefore, Mike Tomlin and friends could do both: sign Rodgers for a year or two and draft Dart, the third quarterback on the board for this class, at least per the current draftboard.
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