Report shares big claim about Giants’ interest in Aaron Rodgers
from Zac Wassink, with YardBarker.com/www.yardbarker.com
New York Giants had struck out in their pursuit of Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, a report claimed that the Giants were “now shifting their interest to” New York Jets signal-caller Aaron Rodgers.
On Sunday afternoon, NFL insider Connor Hughes of SNY indicated fans should pump the brakes before visions of Rodgers wearing a Giants jersey enter their heads.
“It was blown a bit out of proportion,” Hughes said about the Giants’ interest in Rodgers. “Yes, the Giants have discussed Rodgers. Members of their coaching staff actually sought out former members of the Jets coaching staff in Indy to ask about Rodgers’ two years in New York. But no deal is imminent. Rodgers is not believed to be the immediate fallback option after missing on Stafford. One source actually said that he would be ‘stunned’ if it actually happened. Rodgers, at this point in time, is simply one of many veteran quarterbacks the Giants are considering.”
It was reported amid Big Blue’s discussions regarding a possible trade for Stafford that Rodgers had “reached out to the” Giants about a potential working relationship. The 41-year-old will officially part ways with the Jets at some point during the offseason, and the perception exists that there’s not a strong market for his services at this time.
However, Hughes shared that “one league source” believes Russell Wilson of the Pittsburgh Steelers will be “the player the Giants ultimately land.” Wilson is on track to reach free agency when the new league year opens on March 12 but could re-sign with Pittsburgh if Steelers backup Justin Fields elects to test the open market. Both ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport (h/t Steelers Depot) suggested this past weekend that the Steelers would prefer to re-sign Fields over Wilson.
Wilson had what was described as “an exploratory meeting” with the Giants last March before he signed a team-friendly deal to join the Steelers. Meanwhile, Rodgers seemingly would like to stay in the New York/New Jersey area through at least the end of his playing career.
Whichever veteran the Giants sign, he almost certainly will be asked to mentor a to-be rookie quarterback. New York could select either Miami’s Cam Ward or Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders with the third pick of the 2025 draft. Hughes thinks New York could even complete a trade with the Tennessee Titans to acquire the first choice of the player-selection process that subsequently would be used to land Ward or Sanders.
“I actually think Rodgers would be perfectly fine being the bridge to a younger quarterback,” Jets reporter Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic said for an article published on Monday morning. “…Rodgers previously had a positive relationship with Jordan Love despite all the awkward circumstances around that situation. Rodgers has said he never wants a young quarterback to feel the way Brett Favre made him feel when Rodgers was drafted in Green Bay, and despite all the controversy that follows Rodgers, teammates tend to appreciate his company.”