The Vikings were linked to QB Aaron Rodgers quite a bit this past month. Many believed Minnesota was the preferred destination for the veteran quarterback and it appears as if the team seriously considered adding the future Hall of Famer to the roster.

Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell, speaking at the NFL owners meetings, shared some insight into why the team considered signing Rodgers before ultimately sticking with 2024 first-round QB J.J. McCarthy, who missed his entire rookie year with a knee injury.

O’Connell says two things are both true.

“We took J.J. 10th in the draft last year after a very extensive evaluation process,” O’Connell said via ESPN’s Kevin Seifert. “A lot of things that we hoped to see from him, we saw in a short amount of time. Unfortunately, he got injured and we tried to maximize as much as we could with his ‘redshirt’ year. … And I think J.J. was able to take some things out of that and be ready to go for the spring.”

“The second part that can be true,” O’Connell added, “is Aaron Rodgers is a four-time NFL MVP and somebody who, not just myself, but we’ve all had so much respect for competing against him. And he happened to be at a point in time in his career where he was free to have some real dialogue about what his future may look like. And we happened to be one of those teams that he reached out to. And I have had a personal relationship with him going back since my playing days.”

Minnesota looked hard into signing a veteran this offseason, putting offers out to both Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones who were on the roster for all or part of last season. The goal was to have insurance and competition for McCarthy. Both veterans ultimately elected to sign elsewhere for a clearer path to playing time and potentially more money.

While the Vikings haven’t guaranteed McCarthy the starting job or ruled out circling back to Rodgers if he remains available at a later date, ultimately O’Connell reiterated his support for McCarthy and spoke glowingly about his potential.

“… But I do feel very strongly about where [McCarthy is] at right now. And based upon the information we have from the evaluation process, the time we had with him, I feel very good about projecting a really positive year for J.J. And now we’ve got to go to work and do it.”

Rodgers, 41, is a former first-round pick of the Packers back in 2005. He agreed to a four-year, $134 million extension that included over $100 million guaranteed in 2018.

Rodgers was owed a base salary of $25 million in the final year of his deal in 2022 when he agreed to a three-year, $150 million extension with $101 million of the deal guaranteed.

After one year, the Packers traded him to the Jets for a package that included a second-round pick in 2023 and a conditional 2024 second that could become a first.

He played just four snaps in 2023 before tearing his Achilles in Week 1 but returned as the Jets’ quarterback for the 2024 season. New York released him with a June 1 designation after the season.

In 2024, Rodgers appeared in all 17 games for the Jets and completed 63 percent of his passes for 3,897 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions.