Vikings Keep Getting in Steelers Way for Aaron Rodgers

The Pittsburgh Steelers have in essence become the undisputed favorites to sign Aaron Rodgers this offseason, though they likely won't feel 100 percent secure about their chances until he's either in the building or the Minnesota Vikings dissipate from the conversation.

After Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah fielded questions about Rodgers last week and left the door slightly cracked for another potential run at the future Hall of Famer, head coach Kevin O'Connell sat down with NFL Network's Tom Pelissero at the league meetings and discussed their pursuit of the 41-year-old.

"Look, Aaron and I have known each other for a long time," O'Connell said. "Four-time MVP. I can't even put into words the amount of respect I have for Aaron, so when it became a possibility that Aaron may have interest in playing for the Minnesota Vikings, our job, Kwesi, myself amongst many others is to evaluate what that looks like ... you have to take the time to visit those topics and have that kind of dialogue as an organization, and where we ended up is after some personal dialogue with Aaron, we wanted to make sure J.J. feels he's in a position to hit the ground running this spring, have a great spring and put himself in position to have a great 2025,"

#Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell joined me at the NFL annual meeting for an interview on the state of the team, a big free-agent haul — and a comprehensive answer on where everything stands with at QB. @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/MEhZedHq6R
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 31, 2025

Minnesota's public backing of McCarthy has been standard this offseason, and all signs point towards the 2024 first-round pick taking the reins after missing his rookie year with a knee injury.

Though there's optimism about his readiness, the Vikings have ostensibly allowed for the future possibility of Rodgers reentering their plans if McCarthy hits a snag somewhere down the line.

It's no secret that Rodgers is inclined towards Minnesota, and the organization may profile as his preferred destination, but he's not on the top of its wishlist as of now.

If that changes in the future while he's still on the open market, however, then that could spell trouble for Pittsburgh.

The Steelers have spelled out their intense interest in Rodgers and appear to have made progress after hosting him for a visit on March 21, but the timeline for his decision remains ambiguous.

Pittsburgh is the only franchise truly chasing after Rodgers at the moment, and the engrossment is mutual, but the Vikings have yet to completely leave the picture, which will get more worrying for the Steelers if the situation continues dragging on.

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