Raiders QB rumors: Las Vegas could target Aaron Rodgers under one condition, unlikely to sign Russell Wilson

With less than a week to go until the start of free agency, the quarterback situation for the Las Vegas Raiders is as murky as ever. It’s not clear who the Raiders starting quarterback will be in 2025, but it seems there’s at least a small chance it could be Aaron Rodgers. 

According to Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press, the Raiders could target Rodgers, but only under one condition: He has to be a fit with the system new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly is running. Maaddi added that the Raiders coaching staff hasn’t yet made a determination of whether they think Rodgers can run Kelly’s offense. 

So what will that offense look like? For most of his career, Kelly was known for having his team play at a “breakneck speed.” Kelly’s offense was designed to spread out opposing defenses and make them defend the entire field. Although his spread formations made it look like he loved to throw the ball, the heart of his offense has always been a strong rushing attack. 

The 61-year-old, who was the offensive coordinator for Ohio State’s national championship team in 2024, ran a more pro-style offense with the Buckeyes, which was a lot different from what he ran when his FBS coaching career started at Oregon in 2009. 

“Going from those five-wide (formations), fast, no-huddle, breakneck speed, shiny helmets to getting in a huddle and playing with 12 personnel is a little bit different,” Kelly said in February, via The Athletic.

At Ohio State, Kelly’s offense produced two 1,000-yard rushers last season, two 1,000-yard receivers and a quarterback in Will Howard who threw for more than 4,000 yards. The Buckeyes ran the ball 53.48% of the time, and it won’t be surprising if Kelly brings a similar mindset to Las Vegas. 

Back in February, Kelly made it clear the team would have to evaluate all available quarterbacks before adding a potential starter. 

“You have to look at what is available to you, whether it’s through the draft or through free agency, or on the current roster,” Kelly said. “And then, what are their strengths and how do we design our offense around their strengths? It has to be designed around how the quarterback plays, so I think it’s really your evaluation of the personnel that’s available to you and then fitting them into that system.”

If the Raiders are going to sign Rodgers, it seems like Kelly wants to make sure he can design an offense around his strengths. The 41-year-old was once one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL — he has four MVP awards to prove that — but his play fell off in 2024 with the New York Jets, and right now, it’s not clear how Kelly feels about the one-time Super Bowl winner. 

Rodgers does have at least one big fan in Las Vegas and that’s Raiders star Maxx Crosby. During the most recent episode of his podcast, Crosby said he wants to see Rodgers playing for the Raiders in 2025. 

“I think with all the doubt, all the negativity around Aaron Rodgers, ‘Oh, he needs to retire,’ things like that, he’s getting cut by the Jets,” Crosby said. “I think he’s going to come back … I think he’s going to have a big year this year, and I hope it’s in our town.”

Although Rodgers still seems to be an option for the Raiders, one player who might have already been ruled out is Russell Wilson. Wilson spent 10 seasons playing for Pete Carroll in Seattle, but it doesn’t look like he’s going to reunite with his old coach in Las Vegas. According to Maaddi, Wilson is “unlikely” to end up joining Carroll with the Raiders. 

At this point, Wilson’s best options seem to be the Giants, Titans or Colts. He could also return to Pittsburgh for another season, although the Steelers are reportedly planning to prioritize signing Justin Fields over Wilson. 

As for the Raiders, they have plenty of options at quarterback. If they don’t think Rodgers is a good fit with Kelly’s offense, they could go after Sam Darnold. 

The Raiders could also end up taking a quarterback with the sixth overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. If the Raiders aren’t willing to trade up to land one of the top two quarterbacks — Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders — or if one of those two don’t fall to them, Vegas could take a flyer in a later round on someone like Jaxson Dart, Kyle McCord or Jalen Milroe. The Raiders could also look into taking Will Howard, who was Kelly’s quarterback at Ohio State in 2024. 

The Raiders have plenty of options, and with Tom Brady assisting the search, it will be interesting to see what they do at quarterback for the 2025 season.