There is a new team in the mix to potentially land Aaron Rodgers in free agency: the New Orleans Saints. After Rodgers visited Pittsburgh (and left without a contract in hand), rumors continued to spread about his football future.
The latest chatter thinks Rodgers’ indecisiveness might be part of a bigger scheme. A.J. Hawk — a close friend of Rodgers, and former teammate in Green Bay — let the NFL world in on another rumor going on behind the scenes in New Orleans regarding Rodgers.
Aaron Rodgers Rumored To Be Waiting for the Saints All Along?
During his appearance on the “Pat McAfee Show,” Hawk dished out some hot inside information about a team whose starting quarterback might have a subtle injury that could force them to pivot to Rodgers. Not only that, Hawk seemed to indicate that Rodgers has been eyeing the New Orleans’ job for quite some time.
“I think there is a wild card team out there,” Hawk said. “Is there a wild card team out there that’s like, ‘Oh wow!’ Maybe there’s a quarterback out there … not gonna mention any names, who maybe has a subtle injury that people don’t know about. AÂ starting quarterback on a team out there that has an injury that we don’t know about. Maybe he’s waiting for that.”
Building onto the claim, host Pat McAfee cited Ian Rapoport’s recent injury update on Saints QB Derek Carr, stating: “Starter Derek Carr is dealing with a shoulder injury that threatens his availability for this season. Carr is weighing options, including the possibility of surgery.”
Hawk responded to Rapoport’s report: “Are the New Orleans Saints in conversations with Aaron Rodgers? I think any place like this where a quarterback job becomes open because a veteran guy goes down, you’re gonna have to ask if Aaron’s not signing somewhere, is this the team that would go after Aaron? Would he want to be there?”
Derek Carr is dealing with a shoulder injury that could threaten his availability for this season..@_BigBen7 knew that a starting Quarterback in the NFL was dealing with an injury #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/nVPgboEC63
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow)
Other than Carr, the Saints’ quarterback room includes Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener, with Ben DiNucci rounding out the depth chart. None of them have much experience in the NFL. Adding a veteran like Rodgers might give the Saints the boost it needs at the position to get back into playoff contention in 2025.
If not Rodgers, the franchise is likely to look for a top quarterback prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft, possibly at No. 9 overall. Several rumors have the Saints being interested in drafting Shedeur Sanders as their Round 1 pick. Cam Ward is predicted to go No. 1 to Tennessee.
NFL Media’s Rhett Lewis wrote: “There’s definitely been some smoke regarding the Saints taking a quarterback in this draft. In this simulation, the second-best signal-caller in the class falls right into their lap at No. 9. At some point, New Orleans has to start planning for the future; snagging a talented prospect with a reasonable price tag at the league’s most premium position could be a coup.”
