Vikings Suddenly a Darkhorse Option for Their Once-Biggest Rival

The NFL is as unpredictable as it gets, and Friday night was more proof of that. Out of nowhere, the Las Vegas Raiders traded for Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith, opening this year’s quarterback carousel. The result? Well, the Seahawks are now suddenly players in the Sam Darnold sweepstakes, and numerous dominoes will follow.

Vikings Suddenly a Darkhorse Option for Their Once-Biggest Rival

Just two days ahead of free agency, the big-time NFL reporters are already the hottest accounts on social media.

On Saturday, Ian Rapoport posted on X a list of quarterback nuggets, and, of course, the Vikings are included.

Starting to note that Darnold is likely out in Minnesota, and he is a strong candidate to become Smith’s successor in Seattle. The Seahawks need a new passer, and Darnold is coming off a season with 35 passing touchdowns and a trip to the Pro Bowl, making him the top QB on the market.

Rapoport continued, “The Vikings time with Darnold is likely over as they turn their eyes to Daniel Jones, though … Daniel Jones has options, with Minnesota and the Colts being among them.”

Daniel Jones signed with the Vikings after his tenure with the Giants had ended. He experienced a breakout season in 2022 but regressed in 2023 and then suffered a torn ACL. In 2024, he continued to struggle, and it became quite obvious that the passer and the signal-caller needed a fresh start.

Jones has drawn praise from Kevin O’Connell, and he might be just the right guy to be the wingman for last year’s tenth-overall pick, J.J. McCarthy, because he has the requisite starting pedigree to be a bridge starter in case the sophomore isn’t ready for Week 1.

But the next item on Rapoport’s list is the true shocker as he brought Aaron Rodgers into play for the Vikings’ QB vacancy.

“Aaron Rodgers lurks, considering the Giants with the Vikings as a dark horse.”

Rodgers has often been named as a candidate for the Vikings but more as a running gag because he could replicate Brett Favre’s NFL journey. Instead, the smoke might actually be real, and he might complete the prophecy.

His retirement has been on the table for years, but if he keeps playing, the Vikings could be his next employer. That was also suggested by ESPN’s Adam Schefter last month.

“My guess would be that he ends up playing,” Schefter said on The Pat McAfee Show. “He’s gonna want to continue playing. I would guess he’ll want to do it at a place that wants him. Here’s a guy that, I think he’s made more money than any NFL player in history right now. So that gives him the ability to sit back and be selective about what he does and doesn’t want to do. … It’s a fluid, moving thing. Is Minnesota gonna lose Sam Darnold, or are they gonna bring him back?”

Rodgers is undoubtedly one of the best players to ever compete in the National Football League, and the Vikings have been on the opposite side of him far too often to ignore that. The 2005 first-rounder has thrown for almost 63,000 yards and 503 touchdowns to an absurd interception number of only 116.

He won back-to-back MVP awards in 2020 and 2021. The following 2022 campaign was his last in Green Bay, and he played at an average level in an offense that slowly transformed into a run-first unit because he couldn’t carry the team as he used to.

After his trade to the New York Jets, he famously suffered a torn Achilles tendon a few snaps into his tenure with his second green team and missed the remainder of the season. Last year, he returned to the field, and the raw statistics look quite solid, with 3,897 passing yards, 28 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions.

In the more advanced metric EPA/Play, however, Rodgers ranks 22nd, just above Carolina’s Bryce Young and potential Vikings QB2 Daniel Jones. PFF ranked him 18th.

Regardless, Rodgers is a controversial figure and will arrive at his next team with a complicated personality that an entire organization must be willing to deal with.

The future Hall of Famer turned 41 in December. The Vikings can legally talk to his representation on Monday.

It would be one of the most fascinating moves in recent Vikings history.

Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, rbsdm, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.

Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt