The Steelers and Aaron Rodgers are talking. Nothing speaks more loudly than cash.
What will Rodgers want from Pittsburgh?
A sense emerged two weeks ago, when Rodgers became a potential alternative to Matthew Stafford, that Rodgers would take a lot less than whatever Stafford wanted. If so, that might not apply to other teams.
One guess, from a source on the fringes of the discussions: two years, $90 million, with $40 million fully-guaranteed at signing.
We’ll see how it plays out. For now, the game of musical chairs is playing out. Where and when it stops, no one knows. Chances are that, in the end, there will be more asses than seats.
The Giants are bringing back veteran tight end Chris Manhertz.
The team announced a one-year deal with Manhertz.
Manhertz has played nine NFL seasons with five different teams, joining the Giants last March. He played all 17 games, with 11 starts, last season, seeing action on 342 offensive snaps and 165 on special teams.
He caught three passes for 30 yards and a touchdown.
Manhertz, 32, has appeared in 137 regular-season games with 64 starts for the Saints, Panthers, Jaguars, Broncos and Giants.
Used mostly as a blocking tight end, Manhertz has 29 receptions for 301 yards and three touchdowns in his career.
After four NFL seasons, quarterback Daniel Jones received a significant contract from the Giants. Midway through its second season, the Giants moved on.
Now, the 2019 first-round pick heads toward free agency. He’s 27. He’s won a playoff game. And it became obvious after the Giants released Jones that he wasn’t the problem in New York.
So where will he land after the ongoing quarterback carousel spins to a stop? The first two spots have been filled. The Rams kept Matthew Stafford. The Raiders landed Geno Smith. Several obvious or potential starting jobs remain.
The teams currently looking for a solid option at QB1 are the Jets, Steelers, Browns, Titans, Colts (it’s an “open competition” there, with only Anthony Richardson on track to compete), the Giants (strike them from this list), and the Seahawks.
With Sam Darnold widely expected to land in Seattle, the most obvious potential landing spots for Jones are the Jets, Steelers, Browns, Titans, and Colts.
And, yes, it would be B-E-A-utiful if the 2025 Week 1 starters in New York are the same two guys from 2024, only with different teams.
The realistic candidates for the open starting jobs are Darnold, Jones, Aaron Rodgers, Justin Fields, Russell Wilson, Kirk Cousins (if he’s traded or cut), and possibly Jimmy Garoppolo, Joe Flacco, and Drew Lock.
A couple of them could end up being placeholders for rookies like Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders. Still, they’ll be the guy at least until the draft.
Back to Jones. In the coming game of musical chairs, there could be a seat for Jones atop a depth chart for him. If there isn’t, he becomes a viable option to stay in Minnesota.
There’s also a chance — slim, but still a chance — that the Vikings will opt for an open competition between Jones and J.J. McCarthy.
The Vikings liked Jones enough last year to add him to the 53-man roster for the playoffs. And Jones liked his chances in the playoffs enough to give up a two-month head start on free agency for a piddly Wild Card game check.
Answers will come soon, because the music is about to get very loud. And because the chairs are going to keep filling up. By Wednesday, if not sooner, we could know where Jones will be for 2025.
The Giants are bringing back their punter.
Per Tom Pelissero of NFL Media, New York is signing Jamie Gillan to a three-year deal.
The initial report notes Gillan’s contract is worth up to $10.2 million.
Gillan, 27, was set to become an unrestricted free agent next week. He will instead continue with New York, where he’s been the punter for the last three seasons.
In 13 games in 2024, Gillan averaged 43.7 yards per punt with a 40.5-yard net average. Of his 56 punts, 48.2 percent were downed inside the 20 with just two going for a touchback.
During a recent episode of PFT Live, I said I was considering switching allegiances from the Vikings to the Eagles, if only to enjoy one Super Bowl win before heading to the Great Press Box in the Sky (which is also what they should call the press box in the Superdome).
I was kidding, I think. If the move that is the subject of this specific blurb happens, I might not be.
A Saturday morning tweet from Ian Rapoport of NFL Media says that quarterback Aaron Rodgers is “considering the Giants with the Vikings as a dark horse.”
It’s another domino from the trade that will send, as of Wednesday, quarterback Geno Smith to the Raiders. If, as expected, the Seahawks sign Sam Darnold, the Vikings will need another veteran. Enter Rodgers, potentially.
Many (not me) are rooting for Rodgers to take the next step in the Brett Favre career arc. And J.J. McCarthy wouldn’t be thrilled about having his opportunity to become the starter delayed by a season.
Surely, Rodgers would sign with the Vikings only if he was installed as the starter. That could make things interesting, and awkward, if he and/or the team are struggling in the middle of the season and McCarthy is ready to go.
The Vikings welcomed Favre in 2009. He propelled the franchise to one of its best seasons since the most recent Minnesota Super Bowl appearance, 49 years ago. And the Vikings likely would have made it if Favre hadn’t gone full fool with the game on the line, throwing a pass across his body when the Vikings were in range for a potential game-winning field goal.
Maybe Rodgers has enough left to make a difference. Maybe the Vikings can take another failed former Jets quarterback and get to the playoffs, and potentially win a game or two. Maybe Rodgers can do for the Vikings what Favre couldn’t.
The less Rodgers wants financially, the more tempting the move will become. If, at the end of the day, they can get Rodgers for whatever they’d budgeted to pay Darnold, maybe it makes sense.
And when the Vikings host the Eagles this season, maybe it’ll make sense for me to wear by throwback Eagles hoodie.
