Mike Silver: There's a '50-50' chance Aaron Rodgers winds up in Minnesota

The Athletic columnist doubled down on his report detailing the quarterback's desire, and the Vikings' interest, of him playing in Minnesota.

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers may have played his last game for Gang Green on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in East Rutherford, N.J. / Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Word has it Aaron Rodgers wants to play for the Minnesota Vikings. The chances of it happening are apparently a coin flip.

Mike Silver, a columnist for The Athletic who was among those who reported Rodgers wants to play in Minnesota and is waiting on word from Kevin O'Connell and the Vikings before making a decision about his future, doubled down on his report from Saturday, saying on the Just Your Opinion, Man podcast Sunday it's "50-50" whether he signs in Minnesota.

"One thing we cannot tell you, and that's because it hasn't been decided yet, is what will (Vikings coach) Kevin O'Connell ultimately choose?" Silver said on the podcast. "And some people who are pretty familiar with what's going on in that building have told us it's literally 50-50 in their eyes."

Silver, Dianna Russini and Alec Lewis reported on Saturday that the decision of whether to bring Rodgers aboard is in the hands of O'Connell, who's weighing whether to bring in the four-time NFL MVP or roll with J.J. McCarthy, who missed all of his rookie season due to a meniscus injury but is expected to be a full go in 2025, and he's someone they're quite high on.

While other insiders have reported the Vikings have no interest in Rodgers, Silver says that doesn't appear to be the case. Right now, it's all about O'Connell weighing what the decision to bring him in would mean for the franchise. The Vikings are poised to win now, and Rodgers could give them their best chance. But McCarthy is poised to be the long-term starter.

"(O'Connell's) the guy who's got to get out there every day and answer if it goes badly and J.J. McCarthy's growth is stunted because of it or seemingly stunted, that's going to be on him," Silver said. "If there's drama with Aaron Rodgers, which I would argue is much less likely in a situation like this where (Rodgers) has so much respect for the play caller and the culture is so good in that building, but still, if stuff starts to happen, that's going to be Kevin O'Connell's thing. And most importantly, the Vikings haven't had a lot of success of picking quarterbacks that high and having them develop into franchise guys. They're excited about McCarthy coming off the injury, so they don't want to mess that up.

"On the other hand, I think the counterargument, and it's a strong one, is we're built to win now, we've never won a Super Bowl, this guy's one of the greatest to ever spin it, and we think he can still spin it. And if J.J. McCarthy's really the G that we think he is, he's going to lead our franchise for a decade or more, he's gotta be able to handle that scenario for a year, and if it goes more than a year, then it's a great problem to have because you're winning."

Will it be Rodgers or will it be McCarthy this season? Flip a coin.

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