Highlights
- Cardinals wide receiver Kendrick Bourne tweeted at Rodgers on May 5 — 'Come on we waiting on you' — sparking a fresh round of speculation.
- Coach Mike LaFleur named Brissett, Minshew, Slovis, and rookie Carson Beck as the current QB room but stopped short of closing the door on Rodgers.
- Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, a close friend of Rodgers and his OC in Green Bay from 2019–2021, gives the Cardinals a credible connection.
- At least one NFL insider has characterized the noise as 'not at all' real, per NBC Sports, leaving the situation unresolved heading into the offseason.
Aaron Rodgers remains unsigned, and the Arizona Cardinals are now at the center of the loudest rumor in the NFL offseason after wide receiver Kendrick Bourne publicly recruited the quarterback on social media.
Bourne tweeted at Rodgers on May 5, 2026 — "Come on we waiting on you" — a post that, according to CBS Sports, prompted Cardinals coach Mike LaFleur to address the speculation directly. LaFleur named Jacoby Brissett, Gardner Minshew, Teddy Slovis, and third-round rookie Carson Beck as the team's current quarterbacks, but did not rule out adding Rodgers.
The connection between Rodgers and the Cardinals is not purely speculative. The team hired Nathaniel Hackett as offensive coordinator — Hackett is described by CBS Sports as best friends with Rodgers and served as his offensive coordinator in Green Bay from 2019 through 2021. That relationship gives Arizona a credible back-channel that most teams chasing Rodgers cannot claim.
Rodgers spent last season with the Pittsburgh Steelers and is the most prominent quarterback still available in free agency. The Cardinals finished 3–14 last season, per CBS Sports, losing three games by one field goal each in the first five weeks — a record that makes the case for a veteran upgrade while also raising questions about whether Rodgers would choose a rebuild.
Not everyone is buying the hype. NBC Sports reported that an NFL insider characterized the noise around Rodgers and the Cardinals as "not at all" real. The Spun and Newsweek have both covered the story, with the latter reporting an insider attempting to set the record straight on the rumors.
FOX 10's sports desk is also tracking the Rodgers question alongside two other major Arizona storylines: the Phoenix Mercury's roster outlook following their championship run and what comes next for the Suns after a season that exceeded expectations.
LaFleur has not announced a timeline for finalizing the quarterback depth chart.
Sources
Every factual claim in this article traces to one of the sources below. See how we work for the editorial process.
- cbssports.com retrieved 2026-05-07T02:39:17.965724+00:00
- nbcsports.com retrieved 2026-05-07T02:39:17.965724+00:00
- Fox 10 Phoenix retrieved 2026-05-07T02:39:17.965724+00:00
Authored by sam_whitfield. Drafted by AI from primary-source material under our beat-specific editorial guides; reviewed by humans before publish under our five-gate process. Sources retrieved at 2026-05-07T02:39:17.965724+00:00. Every claim traces to a source.
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