Aaron Rodgers is the Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback now, but during the offseason it was unclear what his future would hold. He took his time committing to the Steelers. He didn’t rule out retirement, but he also could’ve played for a different team. The Minnesota Vikings looked like the Steelers’ biggest competition for Rodgers at one point. However, they opted to stick with J.J. McCarthy under center. As a result, Mike Florio thinks that Rodgers will be extra motivated to beat the Vikings this week.
“Steelers win 24-21,” Florio said Thursday on the Chris Simms Unbuttoned podcast. “Opportunistic defense. Aaron Rodgers, we saw what he did to the Jets, and he enjoyed beating the Jets. Didn’t say anything until after the game about how the Jets didn’t want him and they didn’t think he could play.
“He’s gonna say the same thing after he beats the Vikings. ‘I called them, they weren’t interested. You get what you get. Play stupid games win stupid prizes. I could’ve been in Minnesota, they didn’t want me, and now, I’ve beaten them.'”
The Jets parted ways with Rodgers in March after two underwhelming years with him. It was a messy breakup, too. However, leading up to the Steelers’ game against the Jets, Rodgers didn’t let his personal feelings loose. He publicly treated it like any other game.
Following the Steelers’ 34-32 win, though, Rodgers was done hiding his feelings. He made it clear that he was happy to beat the Jets.
However, it doesn’t seem like there’s as much, if any, bad blood between Rodgers and the Vikings. Rodgers acknowledged that he talked to other teams, but he didn’t wish any of them ill will. He was more than happy to join the Steelers.
If anything, Rodgers could be more motivated to win this game because of his history playing against the Vikings. They were one of his biggest rivals during his time with the Green Bay Packers. So close to the end of his career, Rodgers would probably like to defeat this old foe one last time.
Also, this game will make history as the NFL’s first regular-season game in Ireland. There are a lot of other factors that feel more important to this game than the Vikings’ potential interest in Rodgers this offseason. Will Rodgers be happy to beat the Vikings? Yes, but that doesn’t mean he’s treating it like a revenge game. It’s always good to get a win in the NFL.
