Aaron Rodgers had no interest living in Tom Brady’s shadow

Aaron Rodgers moved on from the Packers to the New York Jets, but the Patriots also were in on the quarterback only for Rodgers to turn them down.

Remember just a few short months ago when everyone was speculating where Aaron Rodgers would end up as he moved on from the Green Bay Packers? Few people miss those days, without question.

Having said that, one logical fit for the future Hall of Fame quarterback, who ultimately ended up in New York with the Jets, that there were few reports about regarding any interest in or connection to Rodgers was the New England Patriots. But now we’re finding out why that was the case.

Craig Carton of FOX Sports said in an appearance on FS1 this past week that the Patriots, who were rumored to be exploring trading Mac Jones this offseason, were heavily interested in replacing Jones with Aaron Rodgers. The Packers quarterback, however, turned the deal down.

“Aaron Rodgers almost wasn’t a Jet,” Carton said. “The New England Patriots made an offer to the Green Bay Packers to get Aaron Rodgers, and when Aaron Rodgers heard it, his agent said, ‘No, we ain’t playing for New England. We want to be a Jet.”

NFL Rumors: Patriots wanted Aaron Rodgers, QB turned them down

Now, the context of that quote indicates that Rodgers had already decided on wanting to move to the Jets at this point. Had New York not been interested, you have to wonder if Rodgers would have had any interest in stepping into the role long occupied by Tom Brady. But with the Jets mutually interested, Rodgers told the Packers to kick rocks with that Patriots offer.

It, however, is not hard to believe the reports that New England tried to get involved in the Rodgers sweepstakes.

Though Bill Belichick and others have consistently downplayed the organization’s interest in trading Mac Jones or moving on from the former first-round pick in any way, there has been too much smoke for there not to have been at least a little fire related to that. Subsequently, rather than replacing him with Bailey Zappe, it makes complete sense that they explored the territory with Rodgers.

Alas, the Patriots won’t be going from Brady to Rodgers with a brief Mac Jones buffer between. It’ll still be Jones at the helm for at least the 2023 season — and he and Belichick will have at least two games looking across the sidelines at what could’ve been when the Pats face the Jets.