Purple Rumor Mill: Aaron Rodgers to Vikings, the QB Prediction, Michael Pierce
VikingsTerritory’s Purple Rumor Mill is a two-day chronicle each week. All the week’s Vikings rumors are lassoed and plopped in two spots — articles on Saturday and Sunday — for review. Today is the January 25th edition.
Vikings Rumors: Aaron Rodgers to Vikings, the QB Prediction, Michael Pierce
Remember — rumors are rumors. What you read on weekends in these pieces is what the world is talking about pertaining to the purple team, not necessarily items that will come to fruition.
Here’s the first batch of the week. All past rumors can be read here.
Rumor: Aaron Rodgers is a prime, common-sense target for the Vikings.
Rodgers, like Brett Favre in the 2000s, has a choice between retirement — he’s 41 — perhaps re-upping with the New York Jets, or signing with another quarterback-needy team. That decision will play out in the next couple of months.
According to SI.com, Rodgers could reasonably be a quarterback solution for the Vikings in 2025, even if the purple team has rookie passer J.J. McCarthy waiting to take over.
“It’s not difficult to figure out where Rodgers would look to land if he escaped from New York: Just simply rule out non-contenders or teams already set at QB. Once you’ve done that, two teams come into plain view: the Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers,” SI.com’s Colin Keane wrote this week.
Keane continued, “With Vikings future star J.J. McCarthy still just 21 years old (plus recovering from a major injury), Rodgers could be the perfect guy to join the Vikings and keep the wins coming for their competitive roster, all the while serving as a mentor for the heir apparent McCarthy. It would be a full circle moment for Rodgers, and a fitting way to finish off his career.”
Fans have chirped about Rodgers to Minnesota since his departure from Green Bay.
“Remember, Rodgers entered the NFL being mentored by Brett Favre on the Green Bay Packers. Interestingly, Favre’s career took him from the Packers to the Jets to the … Minnesota Vikings,” Keaned added.
This one won’t come to fruition, but folks will talk about it until Rodgers retires.
Rumor: Minnesota will likely roll with J.J. McCarthy in 2025, letting Sam Darnold walk.
Per NFL insider Jordan Schultz, the choice is fairly clear: Minnesota will hand the baton to McCarthy, sticking to the original plan. “I believe Sam Darnold will still draw real interest this offseason — and a little competition can quickly drive up his price — but I have a hard time seeing him back in Minnesota. J.J. McCarthy is the future,” Schultz tweeted late last week.
Money is the hinge for Darnold and the Vikings, most believe. Spotrac, a website tracking the salary cap and NFL players’ value, claims Darnold will fetch a contract worth $160 million over four years. The Vikings likely don’t have that cash lying around with McCarthy present on the depth chart at an affordable rate for the next four seasons. Or, if Minnesota met Darnold’s high, would-be asking price, it would have few funds left for free agents in the coming offseason(s).
Banking on Schultz’s intel is a safe bet; McCarthy will probably be the guy in 2025.
Rumor: Former Vikings DT Michael Pierce will probably retire.
Freelancer reporter Kyle Phoenix tweeted Monday, one day after the Ravens lost in the playoffs to the Buffalo Bills: “Teammates taking turns signing DT Michael Pierce’s helmet at locker room cleanout.”
The working theory suggests that Pierce’s teammates probably wouldn’t sign his helmet entering a typical offseason, meaning the signatures could serve as a retirement memento. Pierce will turn 33 next fall.
Retirement for Pierce is probable.
ESPN Officially Predicts Sam Darnold’s New Team
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 MIN 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.
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