Tuesday’s “First Call” has an interesting angle to Aaron Rodgers’ attempt at latching on with the Minnesota Vikings. A new team may be in the running for Rodgers’ services in 2025.
We know Rodgers is losing something of importance before next year, regardless of where he winds up. And Shedeur Sanders may not be out of the mix with the New York Giants just yet.
Hard sell
According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, part of Aaron Rodgers’ pitch to the Minnesota Vikings was that he would be a “willing mentor” to young quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
“When the four-time MVP reached out to the Vikings with the idea of making a one-year run at a Lombardi and tying it to being a willing mentor for McCarthy, the team felt it had to listen,” Breer wrote.
Two interesting points are raised by that anecdote. First of all, the story advances the notion that many believed already, which is that Rodgers was the one really selling himself to Minnesota more than Minnesota was interested in him.
Second, one wonders if Rodgers would have the same approach if the Steelers draft Shedeur Sanders or Jaxson Dart before inking Rodgers. Will he still be willing to come to Pittsburgh at that point and mentor one of those two?
Or was that just a Minnesota-specific situation because he sees more hope to win there, with a more offensive-minded head coach and Justin Jefferson as his top target?
Rodgers may also prefer the notion of going back to compete in the NFC North, where he would be playing a 2025 schedule that features nine games inside, one in Dallas and one in Los Angeles.
New suitor in New Orleans?
The New Orleans Saints might be without a starting quarterback to begin the season. News came out Friday that Derek Carr may be down for the year with a shoulder injury.
That could open the door for Rodgers to become a Saint, according to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
"I still think Aaron Rodgers is more likely to go to the Steelers than the Saints" ~ @RapSheet@OfficialAJHawk asking you that question is certainly something ???????? #PMSLivepic.twitter.com/3IPr5rNapZ
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 14, 2025
“I believe it would be an option. He couldn’t make a lot of money there, but I believe they could work something out if they wanted to,” Rapoport said Monday on “The Pat McAfee Show.” “I think the Saints are going to be better than people believe if they do get a quarterback.”
After working their way out of a tough cap situation, OverTheCap.com now says the Saints have $27 million in salary cap room.
“If you’re Aaron Rodgers, would you rather join the Saints, who obviouslydo have a quarterback need, or join the Steelers? I think that’s kind of where it is,” Rapoport added. “Doesn’t the Steelers’ (situation) make more sense to you than the Saints do?”
In New Orleans, Rodgers would be working with Alvin Kamara, Chris Olave, Brandin Cooks, and Rasheed Shahid. He’d be playing mainly in good weather or playing inside, and the NFC South is usually a mediocre division.
But the Saints were 5-12 last year. As disappointing as the Steelers have been lately, they are still in better shape than that.
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Open and ‘Schutt’ case’
Wherever Rodgers ends up playing in 2025, he is going to need a new helmet.
No, not just a new logo on the helmet or a new physical helmet itself. I mean a new brand of helmet.
Via Andrew Vasquez of SteelersWire.com, the NFL is banning Rodgers’ helmet model of preference. That’s the Schutt Air XP Pro Q11 LTD. Nexstar Communications pointed out that Joe Flacco, Thomas Morstead and Nick Folk used that same model in 2024.
Vasquez notes that Rodgers’ helmet was one of seven newly banned models, joining 29 others already prohibited.
ProFootballTalk.comsays that Rodgers needed a helmet brand in 2019, as well, after his prior choice was placed on the banned list.
That was also the year Antonio Brown lost his favorite helmet brand after moving from Pittsburgh to the Oakland Raiders. He pitched a fit that eventually started a spiral, which resulted in him leaving the franchise before ever playing a game.
Still looking out
There has been lots of speculation that the New York Giants may have cooled on the idea of taking Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders with the third pick of the first round. However, the club could trade down to get him later in the first round, trade back into the first round, or select him at pick No. 34 in the second round.
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As a result, the Giants are still doing their due diligence to make sure they have all the information they need on Sanders. According to NFL.com, the Giants plan to work out Sanders privately on Thursday.
Sanders is largely viewed as the No. 2 QB in the draft after Miami’s Cam Ward, who is expected to go No. 1 overall to the Tennessee Titans. If the Cleveland Browns and Giants pass on Sanders at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, he could drop to the Saints at No. 9.
If New Orleans doesn’t want him either, many have wondered if the Steelers would consider using their first-round pick on Sanders at No. 21. He visited Pittsburgh last week.
As a senior in Boulder, Sanders completed 74% of his passes for 4,134 yards and 37 touchdowns in 13 games with his father, Deion, as the head coach.