The Brett Favre saga with the Green Bay Packers at the end of the Hall of Famer's career was downright sad. Everyone remembers Favre's constant back-and-forth with wanting to retire, wanting to play, and then things recycling over and over again for a handful of years. The Packers eventually traded Favre to the Jets, where he seemingly hit rock bottom as a player. Then came Favre's surprising resurgence with none other than the...Minnesota Vikings.
It was Favre's goal all along to play for the Vikings and get back at the Packers for drafting Aaron Rodgers unexpectedly back in 2005. That decision did not sit well with Favre and he certainly made the Packers pay for it in a variety of dramatic ways.
We can all see the same script unfolding now for Aaron Rodgers, whose replacement (Jordan Love) was unexpectedly drafted by the team in 2020. When the Packers decided it was time for Love to take over, they traded Rodgers to none other than the New York Jets.
And with the Jets, you guessed it, Rodgers has seemingly bottomed out as a player. We've been through years of drama with Rodgers, who has flirted with retirement on a variety of occasions (at least reportedly). It's clear that Rodgers is following the Favre script down to the letter, and there's no better proof of that than a recent update by ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Adam Schefter believes Vikings is on the back of Aaron Rodgers' mind
"I do think he's been waiting in the back of his mind for Minnesota." 👀
— ESPN Milwaukee (@ESPNMilwaukee) April 3, 2025
Adam Schefter on Aaron Rodgers ending up on the #Steelers vs the #Vikings. pic.twitter.com/F3PvcVZnoh
Adam Schefter doesn't just put stuff out there to talk hypothetically. If he puts something out there, there are legs to it and he's confirmed it with multiple sources. The idea of Rodgers joining the Minnesota Vikings is not a new one, but the idea that he's specifically holding out on the Steelers to wait for the Vikings to possibly come around?
Well, that's new, and it's significant.
Rodgers has taken a visit to the Steelers' headquarters. He's played catch with DK Metcalf. There is no reason for him to delay in signing on with the Steelers unless he specifically wants to play somewhere else. The Vikings moved on from Sam Darnold this offseason, most likely in favor of 2024 first-round pick JJ McCarthy.
McCarthy is a player Kevin O'Connell and his staff obviously love, but do they think he's going to be ready to lead a team that just wont 14 games last season? It could be the perfect opportunity for Rodgers to exact "revenge" on the Packers as well as potentially recapture some magic in his NFL career. Now, he could do the latter in Pittsburgh as well, but he's clearly enticed by a couple of things specifically.
- He wants to face off against the Packers twice.
- He wants to follow the Brett Favre script almost to the letter.
The only thing Rodgers might change about the Favre script is how it ended. Favre and the Vikings were robbed in the NFC Championship game and could have very well won a Super Bowl. Packers fans are certainly glad there is no lasting image of Favre hoisting a Lombardi as a Viking lingering anywhere.
And they will certainly hope that doesn't happen for Aaron Rodgers, either.