The Minnesota Vikings briefly considered adding four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers to their quarterback room this offseason. The Vikings had conversations with Rodgers earlier this month, but general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah confirmed last week that the team has ultimately decided not to continue pursuing him for now.
Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell spoke for the first time Monday on the team's prior interest in Rodgers at the NFL's annual league meeting, offering his perspective on why they considered the veteran quarterback.
"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," O'Connell said, via ESPN's Kevin Seifert. "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.
"You're constantly ... evaluating all of the opportunities that may be out there," O'Connell said, via Seifert. "And certainly that was one that I found to be interesting just because it speaks to what our place has kind of turned into for quarterbacks."
O'Connell also made it clear that the team's conversations with Rodgers had nothing to do with their confidence in second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy, and kept McCarthy in the loop during the team's talks with Rodgers.
"At the same time we've had a quarterback plan in place with J.J. McCarthy and really like where he's at in that journey right now and looking forward to getting the off season program going with him," O'Connell said.
Though O'Connell and Adofo-Mensah have yet to officially name McCarthy the team's starting quarterback going forward, they both hope he will emerge as QB1, and are confident in what they have seen from him so far.
"I do feel very strongly about where [McCarthy is] at right now," O'Connell said. "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."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Vikings Coach Kevin O'Connell Explains Team's Brief Interest in Aaron Rodgers .