“You know, talking about a great player, a Hall of Famer… it’s our job to be aware of every potential option,” Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah smirked, sounding like Mad Men’s Don Draper holding a playbook instead of a whiskey. The man’s got a 14-3 roster fresh off a playoff heartbreak, a franchise QB prospect in JJ McCarthy, and still won’t slam the door on Aaron Rodgers. Cue the drama.
Let’s decode Kwesi-speak: when he says the Vikings are “happy with our room”, he’s not saying no to Rodgers—he’s saying “not yet.” What’s unsaid: McCarthy’s 4,319-yd, 35-TD ‘backup’ Sam Darnold just bolted to Seattle.
When asked directly about his interest in Rodgers, Kwesi didn’t dodge—he danced.“Aaron Rodgers—you know, this organization has known for a long time on the opposing sideline. You know, talking about a great player, a Hall of Famer. So I understand that. All I’ll always say is, it’s our job as a personnel group to make sure we’re aware of every potential option.”
Translation: Rodgers, 41, with 503 career TDs and a 102.6 passer rating, isn’t just a QB—he’s a human grenade pin. Toss him into a room with McCarthy, the 10th overall pick rehabbing a knee, and suddenly Minnesota’s QB drama rivals Succession’s boardroom battles.
But here’s the twist: Kwesi’s no fool. He knows Rodgers’ $47.2M/year price tag could implode cap space faster than a Hail Mary into triple coverage. “For me to say anything’s 100% forever? That’s not the job,” he grinned, dangling hope like a TE seam route. And when pressed if Rodgers is still an option, he offered the classic GM non-answer:
“Given all our scenario planning, we’re happy with our room. And you know, obviously, we’re going to talk a lot about JJ McCarthy, but Brett Rypien, who’s somebody we brought in last offseason, we thought, you know, made a lot of great decisions—quick decision-making, processing, better athlete than people give him credit for, accurate passer. So we’re excited about him, and we’re always going to keep looking to see if we can upgrade that position, just like every other position.”
Translation? Aaron Rodgers is an option until he isn’t.
Kevin O’Connell: The “QB Elvis” who could tame Rodgers
Enter Kevin O’Connell,Minnesota‘s “QB Elvis,” per Kwesi. The HC’s resume? Coached Kirk Cousins to a 13-4 season, turned Darnold into a playoff QB, and texts Rodgers like they’re pen pals. “Kev’s got a great relationship with Aaron… he looped us in,” Adofo-Mensah revealed, sounding like a proud wingman. And if there’s anyone who could bring Rodgers into the fold without a mutiny, it’s O’Connell.
“You’re talking about a player that Kevin’s known for, you know, a long time. And so when you have a relationship like that, I’m—you know, I’m typically the type that’s like, ‘Hey, whoever’s got the best relationship, talk to him.’ And so Kev, you know, he’s a bit of a—what is it—if I’m like the ‘dork Elvis,’ maybe Kev’s like the ‘QB Elvis’ type of guy.”
O’Connell isn’t just a coach—he’s a therapist. “A lot of times, the environments around quarterbacks aren’t really supportive to quarterbacks. And so, for that reason, he’s got a great relationship with a lot of these guys, and he’s got a great relationship with Aaron. They’ve had a lot of conversations. Obviously, he looped us in, and we kind of met and went from there.”
But let’s keep it real: Rodgers in purple? It’s a long shot. The Vikings are all-in on McCarthy, their “outcome we want,” per Kwesi. Yet O’Connell’s charm is the wild card. This is the guy who turned a 2-14 Jets castoff (Darnold) into a 14-win phenom. Imagine him whispering Rodgers through a Ted Lasso pep talk: ‘You know what the happiest animal is? A goldfish. Short-term memory, man.’
Minnesota’s balancing on a razor’s edge. Chase Rodgers, risk locker-room mutiny. Stick with McCarthy, pray his knee holds. But in Kwesi’s world, every move’s a calculated gamble—“aware of every option” isn’t a soundbite, it’s a manifesto. As O’Connell (well, Yogi Berra, actually) would say, ‘Football’s 90% mental… the other half is physical.’
The post Vikings GM Clears Stance on ‘Interest’ in Aaron Rodgers & Opens Up About Kevin O’Connell’s Involvement with Ex- Jets QB appeared first on EssentiallySports.
