It's too early to forecast Aaron Rodgers becoming the next Packers QB to join the Vikings

Aaron Rodgers could plausibly end up in a purple uniform, but anyone projecting him to the Vikings has made several major assumptions that, right now, nobody can make confidently.

The New York Jets' 2024 season had gone off the rails well before their latest headline-grabbing move. On Tuesday, the team dismissed general manager Joe Douglas, an inevitable but curiously timed decision that effectively signaled the end of the line for several other prominent members of the organization.

That includes Aaron Rodgers, the quarterback for which Douglas and then-head coach Robert Saleh put their jobs on the line to acquire from the Green Bay Packers last year. While Rodgers remains the Jets' starting signal-caller for now, he does not appear likely to remain for another season. Reports suggesting that New York will fully reboot this offseason have surfaced shortly after the news of Douglas' firing.

In the short time since, many have tried to connect Rodgers to another franchise, one that might need a band-aid under center in 2025: the Minnesota Vikings.

It doesn't take much to understand why people would connect the dots between Rodgers and the Vikings. Such an outcome would not only bring the four-time MVP back into the Packers' orbit, but it would also follow the path of his predecessor in Green Bay, Brett Favre, who too spent a short stint with the Jets before landing in the Twin Cities.

As for the Vikings, a veteran like Rodgers could make sense. Current starter Sam Darnold has an expiring contract and has likely built up enough leverage to demand a multiyear deal when he returns to the negotiating table. Minnesota, which invested a first-round pick in quarterback J.J. McCarthy earlier this year, probably doesn't have the motivation to keep Darnold in town. And because McCarthy has undergone multiple knee procedures since joining the team and won't play his first official snap until 2025 at the earliest, Rodgers could provide a bridge to the next era.

Still, while Rodgers could plausibly end up in a purple uniform next season, anyone projecting him to the Vikings has relied on several major assumptions that, at least right now, nobody can make confidently.