“Some” NFL teams wonder if free agent quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who has been without a team since the New York Jets released him in March, is waiting on the Minnesota Vikings to potentially offer him a job, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler on the Dan Patrick Show on Wednesday (10-minute mark).
“There’s some teams I’ve talked to, they are still kind of wondering, like, is he just waiting out the Vikings, you know? ‘Cause the Vikings would be an ideal scenario, one of the best play callers in the league in [head coach Kevin O’Connell], nine dome games, you’re guaranteed nine dome games per year.
“There’s some element of that, but I checked in with the Vikings, I still don’t expect that. They’re moving forward with J.J. McCarthy. So he really has no other option, other than Pittsburgh or retiring.”
O’Connell previously told reporters in March that the team had a dialogue about Rodgers but is ultimately moving forward with McCarthy. By all accounts, that appears to still be the case.
The New York Giants were also in the mix for Rodgers, but they pivoted to veterans Jameis Winston and Russell Wilson before adding Jaxson Dart in the draft.
So, as Fowler noted, it seems as though Rodgers’ options are the Pittsburgh Steelers or retirement.
There’s clearly strong mutual interest here. Steelers owner and president Art Rooney II said the following on Steelers Nation Radio on April 25 (h/t ESPN’s Brooke Pryor).
“We’re still kind of getting the same signals that we’ve been getting recently,” Rooney said. “He does want to come here, so I do think we may get word soon.”
In the meantime, the Steelers are still waiting on an answer from the four-time NFL MVP.