Vikings rejected Aaron Rodgers pitch while giving J.J. McCarthy "runway to seize the job": Report

The lack of movement regarding the Aaron Rodgers situation with the Pittsburgh Steelers is inviting controversy regarding the future. All signs point to the veteran quarterback joining Mike Tomlin's team, but all parties remain tight-lipped about the future, but no deal has been signed yet.

At the start of free agency, while other options were discussed, it became clear that the quarterback's preference was to join the Minnesota Vikings. He wanted to play for Kevin O'Connell, as the Vikings finished a 14-3 season and have a roster ready to compete for a Super Bowl.

The Vikings, though, decided to go on another route. Theu will give 2024 first-round quarterback JJ McCarthy the chance to become their starter, making Rodgers' signing unnecessary.

However, on Monday, NFL reporter Albert Breer revealed details on Rodgers' pitch to the Vikings' front office. The four-time NFL MVP wanted to have a final shot at a Super Bowl while mentoring McCarthy during his development:

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“In the end, faced with all that, the Vikings found themselves emboldened to give McCarthy the runway to seize the job, the staff the opportunity to build the offense for him, and see how that looked at the end of the spring. So the Vikings passed on Rodgers, pushing their chips in on a 22-year-old."

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There are rumors that the quarterback hasn't signed with the Steelers because the Vikings haven;t closed the door. The saga could extend until July, as Steelers' coach Mike Tomlin pointed to a training camp deadline to have the situation resolved.

Dianna Russini says that Rodgers could take less to play for the Vikings

As a 41-year-old veteran with four MVPs, to say that the quarterback has made a lot of money during his career would be an understatement. However, for The Athletic's Dianna Russini, the Steelers could also be proposing less than Rodgers expects:

"Do I think he was going to be willing to take less to play for a team that he thinks is a Super Bowl-caliber team, like the Minnesota Vikings? Absolutely. But I think this situation is different. There’s gonna be a number here, that’s gonna make Aaron happy. And I just don’t know if Pittsburgh is there yet.”

After his release from the New York Jets, Rodgers could sign with any team in what's likely to be the final step of his career.

About the author

Henrique Bulio is an NFL and College Football journalist at Sportskeeda and the Editor-in-Chief of Pro Football Brasil. He has a total 13 years of experience working in American Football, and playing quarterback at an amateur level in Brazil has given him a unique perspective of the game.

Henrique follows the Philadelphia Eagles closely due to Michael Vick's historic performance on MNF against the Washington Commanders in 2010. His all-time favorite player is Ed Reed; he believes that Reed is the greatest safety to ever play the game. Bill Belichick gets the nod as Henrique's favorite coach for coaching the Patriots to glory over two decades.

If Henrique were to be able to go back in time and watch one game, it would be Super Bowl XLIX, where the Patriots and the Seahawks played a complete, back-and-forth game that concluded with one of the biggest talking points in NFL history.

Technical deep dives are Henrique’s specialty, and he ensures never to use misleading words in his articles, since he himself consumes a lot of information off the web. He has had the privilege of interviewing Cairo Santos, Lamar Jackson, Jim Harbaugh, Sean McDermott, Bruce Arians, Matt LaFleur, among others.

Aside from football, Henrique likes to play poker and Counter-Strike.

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Edited by Bhargav