Despite all of the impressive new players the Minnesota Vikings have added in free agency this month, much of the talk surrounding the team has centered around whether they are going to roll with J.J. McCarthy as their new starting quarterback or sign Aaron Rodgers.
It's a storyline that has quickly grown to be tiresome for most Vikings fans, and even a former member of the Green Bay Packers is sick of hearing about Minnesota's interest in Rodgers this offseason.
During an episode of FS1's "The Facility" on Thursday, former Packers wide receiver James Jones shared why he hates how the Vikings have been handling their quarterback situation this year.
"[Aaron Rodgers] gives them the best chance [to win a Super Bowl], but I don't want to see it. Go with the young boy. Let the young boy play football.
You drafted him 10 overall, let him play football, and to be honest with you, I hate what the Minnesota Vikings are doing.
Give the young boy some confidence. Let him know [he's] the starter, man. Let him know, 'This is your football team. We drafted you 10th overall. Let all the Aaron Rodgers talk go out the window. We believe in you.'
Former Green Bay Packers WR James Jones believes the Minnesota Vikings should move forward with J.J. McCarthy and not Aaron Rodgers
Jones went on to share a story from his playing days about how former Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre wanted the Packers to trade for Randy Moss when the former Vikings star receiver was a member of the Oakland Raiders.
But instead of trading for Moss, former Green Bay general manager Ted Thompson told Jones that he wasn't going to trade for the All-Pro pass-catcher. Instead, Thompson wanted to move forward with the players that the Packers had drafted and invested in, like Jones and former Green Bay and Minnesota wide receiver Greg Jennings.
Jones likely isn't the only one who feels that the Vikings have been doing McCarthy a disservice this offseason by talking with Rodgers. But, just as Minnesota general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah talked about on Wednesday, the team has to make sure they are prepared for multiple scenarios this year, especially at the quarterback position.
Do the Vikings want McCarthy to open next season as their starting quarterback? Yes, of course they do. But it's also okay for Minnesota to have concerns about a young signal-caller who just missed his entire rookie season because of a knee injury.
Luckily, McCarthy doesn't seem to be someone who is lacking confidence in himself, so any sort of impact felt from the Vikings speaking with Rodgers this year has likely been minimal on the young quarterback.