NFL News: Vikings confirm starting quarterback decision between Aaron Rodgers and J.J. McCarthy

The Minnesota Vikings have confirmed that J.J. McCarthy is their current starting quarterback, but they have not closed the door to Aaron Rodgers or any other veteran. In fact, the team’s general manager, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, admitted that head coach Kevin O’Connell has spoken with the former Packers and Jets player.

“You’re talking about a player that Kevin has known for a long time. So when you have a relationship like that, I’m typically the type that’s like, ‘Hey, whoever’s got the best relationship, talk to him.’ He has a lot of respect in that community (Kevin O’Connell), and he deserves it for a lot of great reasons. Not just what he brings from the schematics standpoint but how he cares about players and cares about people. He’s got a relationship with Aaron, and they’ve had a lot of conversations. Obviously, he looped us in, and we met and go from there.”

Rodgers is still analyzing what his final decision will be. Right now, his only option is the Pittsburgh Steelers, but after the Vikings didn’t completely shut him down, Minnesota could be the ideal place to fight for the Super Bowl.

Who will be Vikings’ starting quarterback?

J.J. McCarthy will be the starting quarterback for the Vikings, according to Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. However, the decision is not final, and this could bring a lot of controversy during training camp or preseason.

“We’re responding to scenarios and different information as it comes. So, obviously things can change, but right now we’re really happy with our quarterback room and we’re going to look to upgrade it in different ways. It’s a new thing to talk about a player at that caliber and I’m always somebody who wants to learn and grow myself and so just being involved in those dialogues was really special.”

So, Rodgers is indeed on the radar. “We’re trying to solve for a lot of different things at once. From all those conversations comes a list of names, and maybe an order, and an intentional plan for how to best solve these things. So for a player like Rodgers, he’s always going to be in those conversations. Again, we’re trying to make sure we solve for scenarios that we don’t know could possibly happen. We want to make sure there’s competition in the room.”

Will Vikings sign Aaron Rodgers?

No. According to the latest statements from Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, the Vikings have no plans to sign Aaron Rodgers right now, and all the confidence is placed in J.J. McCarthy to develop him as the franchise quarterback of the future.

“At every checkpoint, whether it’s been the draft process or practice until the injury and really the offseason now, he’s met the bar (McCarthy). He’s exceeded our expectations at every point. But it’s also our job to set up a quarterback room that’s going to have to provide insurance in case somebody needs to come in for a couple of games. And that’s our job as a personnel department to look at all the options out there and make sure we’re setting ourselves up for the best case we can.”