During the last two decades, there might not be two people that Minnesota Vikings fans have enjoyed rooting against more than Aaron Rodgers and Sean Payton. Well, as crazy as it sounds, a recent rumor has Rodgers ending up with the Denver Broncos to join Payton for the 2026 season.
On Wednesday, ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio shared something he had heard while in attendance at the NFL's Annual League Meeting this week in Phoenix, Arizona.
"There’s talk of the Broncos possibly bringing Rodgers in for a visit. The motivation comes from the possibility that current starter Bo Nix won’t be fully and completely back to 100 percent when Week 1 rolls around."
Two people Minnesota Vikings fans love to boo, Aaron Rodgers and Sean Payton, rumored to possibly lead the Denver Broncos together in 2026
It's very important to note that Florio also mentioned that this rumor "conflicts with recent comments from Broncos owner Greg Penner, who declared at the NFL’s annual meeting that Nix is 'ahead of schedule' from the broken ankle he suffered late in the playoff win over the Bills and should be good to go for OTAs."
This rumbling about Rodgers potentially linking up with Payton to play for the Broncos next season seems to center around the health of Denver quarterback Bo Nix.
Nix suffered a broken ankle in the Broncos' playoff win over the Buffalo Bills last season, and it was an injury that required him to undergo surgery so that it could properly heal.
As Florio mentioned, Denver has expressed publicly that they believe their young quarterback should be ready by the start of the 2026 regular season. But what if the Broncos have a different belief behind the scenes?
If Payton has any concerns about Nix's availability for the start of the 2026 season, then it really wouldn't be surprising if he's contacted Rodgers in the recent past.
Denver bringing in the former Green Bay Packers quarterback, a year after Nix just put together one of the best seasons by a Broncos signal-caller in the last decade, would definitely be a shock.
But Vikings fans know exactly how slimy Payton can be. Minnesota fans might be the least surprised of any fan base in the NFL if he were to actually try to give his young quarterback's starting job to Rodgers for the 2026 season.
It would certainly be quite the pairing, and unfortunately for Vikings fans, they wouldn't get to boo the despised duo in person next season unless Minnesota and Denver were to meet in Super Bowl 61 next year.