#509: Minnesota Vikings & Aaron Rodgers DESTINED TO BE TOGETHER?

Speaker 1 (00:06):
It's a question that's been discussed for multiple years now,
and as days go by, the validity or momentum behind
the question seems to be more and more possible, more

(00:27):
and more likely. This question that almost seems impossible could happen.
You could not draw it up in a story, or
if you did, it would sound fake. And the question
that is being asked is being discussed, is the Aaron

(00:50):
Rodgers following Brett Farve in his footsteps from Green Bay
to New York to Minnesota, Because now the Minnesota Vikings
could be in the running for Aaron Rodgers's services, because
the New York Jets are not gonna want Aaron Rodgers

(01:12):
past this season. The owner tried to bench him, then
he fired his head coach, then he fired his general manager.
And if you are a general manager trying to make
a splash, trying to make yourself known in New York,
and if you're a head coach, the first decision you're

(01:34):
most likely making is cutting Aaron Rodgers and letting him go.
The question that needs to be answered is will Aaron
Rodgers try to pull off one more season or is
he going to go into retirement looking like this, looking

(01:55):
like a Patrick Ewing in an Orlando Magic uniform. It's
cross because that's how Aaron Rodgers looks right now. He
looks like a guy that's over the hill. Even though
his numbers don't necessarily indicate that he's the guy over
the hill. Seventeen touchdowns, seven interceptions, he's the guy over
the hill, and the Minnesota Vikings need to make a

(02:18):
decision will they pursue Aaron Rodgers Because Sam Donald's only
on a one year contract, the speculation has already begun
whether or not teams like the Giants or the Raiders
are gonna pursue Sam Donald this offseason offer him a
big contract. And what better situation for Aaron Rodgers to

(02:38):
be in than having Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, TJ. Hogginson
bring back his buddy Aaron Jones for another year. And
the Minnesota Vikings offensive line has been solid on the
outside for sure this season. Christian Darris will just be
back next year. I'm sure they'll upgrade the inside O
line this offseason with all they that they have to spend.

(03:02):
So it's kind of becoming a more and more realistic idea.
But here's why the Minnesota Vikings will not pursue Aaron Rodgers.
There comes a time and point in every star player's
career where you need to weigh the good and the bad,

(03:24):
and you need to weigh how valuable the good really
is Aaron Rodgers when he's in his prime, which lasted
a long time. You know, two thousand and nine, he
had an eleven to five record of the Packers. In
twenty twenty one he had a thirteen and three record

(03:45):
with the Packers. So his prime lasted from like two
thousand and nine to twenty twenty one. It's like a
twelve thirteen year prime. Okay, I'll take the bad Aaron Rodgers.
I'll take the guy that goes on a media tour
with Pat McAfee every single week on ESPN. I'll take
the guy that goes on Darkness retreats and and does

(04:11):
weird things and has a terrible relationship with his family.
I'll take a guy like that, a little drama who
cares he's MVP. I'll take that. By the way, he's
forty one years old. Steve stinks the bad always the good,
and that's how the Minnesota Vikings are gonna look at it.

(04:32):
Sure you got Justin Jefferson, Addison and Hankinson. But do
you really if you have Aaron Rodgers, Aaron Rodgers steps
in the building, all of a sudden, you got Davonte Adams,
You've got Jordan Nelson probably coming back. You've got Scanty

(04:53):
in that ride receiver room because that's who Aaron rod
You're probably bringing back Randall for another year. So the
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver who probably looks entirely different with
Aaron Rodgers. I'm kidding because at this point in this
quer he doesn't have that pull, especially after this year
with the Jets. The Vikings wouldn't change around their entire

(05:15):
roster to fit Aaron Rodgers, who's going to be forty
two next year. But I don't think I could think
of a worse situation for JJ McCarthy than to have
an eye rolling sy making Powdy quarterback as QB one.

(05:39):
I don't necessarily think it's a bad idea for the
Minnesota Vikings to explore the idea of seeking another option
as QB one to start the next season. I don't
think it necessarily should be handed to JJ McCarthy week one.
I hope, so I hope that he is QB one

(06:00):
and if he deserves it and proves it in training
camp and in OTAs and in preseason, give him the job.
But exploring another possibility to compete, because at the end
of the day, he had one preseason game under his belt,
and you know, the whole plan this obviously this season

(06:20):
was gonna be you know, maybe the bye week, after
Week five, you insert JJ McCarthy, but Donald was five
and zero. Maybe after the Jacksonville Jaguars game he insered
JJ McCarthy after he went zero for three, three picks
in the end zone in the red zone. So I
don't necessarily think it's a dumb idea for the Vikings

(06:44):
to pursue a stable veteran presence like a Sam Donald.
I bring him back on a two year deal or
somebody else, but it's certainly not Aaron Rodgers because of
the reasons why I just listed. His talent is no
longer supreme, and what he's worth is not much compared

(07:09):
to the bad that he brings. Can he still sling
and I'm sure he can? Can he still make throws? Probably?
Could he take a team like the Minnesota Vikings far
in the playoffs? If he's in the right situation, probably,
but what are the likely chances that he could do that?
And does the bad outweigh the good now? And I
think it does that. I don't even think it's a conversation.

(07:32):
So right now, he's a Patrick Ewing in a Seattle
Super Songs Orlando Magic uniform. He's a shell of his
former self. And the Minnesota Vikings are not going to
pursue that one for the reasons why I just listed
two for the reasons why I just listened in three
for the reasons I just listed. So, Aaron Rodgers and

(07:54):
the Minnesota Vikings are not destined to be together, even
though it kind of seems like the puzzle pieces are
falling together. Kevin O'Connell is not gonna want that wreckage
in the Minnesota Vikings locker room influencing players like JJ McCarthy.
This's not gonna happen. There's another story out there posted.

(08:18):
I saw this on the Purple Persuasion Twitter account. I
also saw it on Vikingswire dot USA Today dot com,
and it's a discussion surrounding Justin Jefferson and Jamar Chase
and the question that's being answered by NFL executives whatever coaches,

(08:44):
NFL personnel. Is is Jamar Chase a scarier wide receiver
or does he? I hate this question, but does he
create more fear? Is it all? Does he make more
fear in the opposing defenses than Justin Jefferson? And here's

(09:05):
what it says. I'm sharing the screen with my YouTube
watchers and I'll read it to my podcast listeners. It
says what is arguable. It seems it's just how highly
he ranks among his peers and who at the position
strikes the most fear in opposing coaches. According to ESPN
NFL insider Jeremy Fowler, many scouts and coaches believe Jamar

(09:26):
Chase strikes more fear and opponents because of his big playability.
He's validating that belief, which means the price take only
goes up. That line was in reference to whether or
not the Cincinnati Bengals are going to be willing to
give Chase a lark contract in the offseason, as the
Vikings did with Jefferson this previous offseason. On the service,

(09:48):
there's some merit to that stance, as Chase is in
the running for the Triple Crown this season, leading the
league in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns. However, when you
look at it a little deeper, the claim of better
big playability doesn't necessarily hold water, at least with regards
to this season. Though Jefferson is trailing Chase in the

(10:09):
counting stats, it is Jefferson and not Chase who has
the edge and yards per reception fifteen point five to
fourteen point five. Jefferson also has had the longer longest
reception this season, ninety seventy yards to seventy, and has
more big play receptions receptions of twenty plus yards this

(10:30):
season than Chase. Regardless of whether or not the anonymous
scouts and coaches are right, Chase and Jefferson are neck
and neck for the best receiver in football, and Chase
is likely in line for a Jefferson like payday this offseason,
though the team could opt to have Chase play on
his fifth year option and kick the can down the
road for another year. Did I mention already that? I

(10:54):
don't think? Maybe I already did. Did I read that
Jamar and Chase could lead the league in receptions, touchdowns,
and receiving yards, so it's like the triple crown? I
think I read that that was in that article too.
But you look at these two players, and that article
posted by vikingswire dot com said something very specific that

(11:17):
stands out. These players are neck and neck. Okay, you know,
some years Jamar Chase is gonna put up better numbers
than Justin Jefferson, and other years, Justin Jefferson is going
to put up better numbers than Jamar Chase. For example,
this season, Jamar Chase has played eleven games. He has

(11:38):
seventy three receptions for one fifty six yards. Jefferson has
played in one less game because of the Minnesota Vikings.
By week, he has fifty nine catches for nine hundred
and twelve yards, so fourteen less catches, about one thousand
and forty less yards than Jamar Chase. Last year, Jefferson

(11:58):
was injured, so it's not a fair comparison. But you
look at twenty twenty two, Jefferson had one hundred and
twenty eight receptions for one thousand, eight hundred and nine yards,
and you look at Jamar Chase eighty seven receptions for
one thousand, forty six yards in twenty twenty two, and
he played twelve games, so he played a few less

(12:20):
games than Jefferson did. And you look at twenty twenty
one Jamar Chase eighty one receptions for one thousand, four
hundred and fifty five yards twenty twenty one Jefferson one
hundred and eight receptions for one thousand, six hundred and
sixteen yards. So you look at these players. Both have talent,
both have big playability, Both are elite wide receivers, both

(12:40):
are top three guys in the NFL. But I'm going
back to the situation that he talked about with Aaron
Rodgers earlier on in this podcast. Jamar Chase is talented,
He's amazing, and you know, maybe the contract this bes,
maybe the track situation isn't all on him, but from

(13:02):
the outsider's perspective, he has something to do with it,
and he creates a little bit more drama than justin Jefferson.
Jefferson could have had the exact same situation last year
as Jamar Chase had this year, showed up to every game,
showed up to every practice, showed up to every training camp,
and didn't whine for one second about his country. In fact,

(13:23):
Jefferson even had a hamstring injury and could have been like, oh,
you know, I'm just not quite ready to come back.
He could have sold that thing for the rest of
the season and I would not have blamed him. In fact,
if I was Jefferson in that situation, I probably don't
come back. Team's not really contention anymore. You're outside looking
in on the playoffs. And you know what Justin Jefferson does.

(13:45):
He comes back anyway, comes back after missing several games
due to a hamstring injury. He missed seven games last
year and came back anyways. So many players would have
just dogged it, said I'm just not quite one hundred percent.
Let me just get this thing strong for next season

(14:06):
so I can get my count. There's risk in coming
back from a hamstring injury because you could reaggravate it.
Jefferson comes back anyway. He's got the better mind on
his shoulders, and he's a leader in the locker room.
He's captain this year, which means a lot to him.
And I'm not just making that up. You read articles,

(14:26):
you read stuff from Alec Lewis, who's an insider, and
being a captain means something to Justin Jefferson, and you
look at these two guys. Yeah, Jefferson had the leg
up twenty twenty one, twenty twenty two, Jamar Chase has
a leg up this year. Who cares? Okay, Sometimes Jamar
Chase is gonna have more yards and receptions than Jefferson.

(14:48):
Next year, Jefferson will probably have more yards and receptions
than Chase. It's hand in hand. Both these guys got talent.
Chase has the better quarterback, though Joe Burrow can't discount that.
Gotta think about that. But there's no way I'm taking
Chase over Jefferson because of reasons one, two three. He's
got the better mind, he's a captain, he's a leader,

(15:10):
and these guys are equally talented. So who am I
gonna take on my team? I'm gonna take Jefferson, the
guy that's not gonna stir it up, the guy that's
not going to make a problem in the Minnesota Backings
locker room. So you know, you think about these two guys,
and of course it's going to be Jefferson, no doubt,

(15:31):
Jefferson for sure. Thank you for making this podcast part
of your day. Hope you enjoyed it. Hit that subscribe
button right there, have a great day.