Pat McAfee drops insider info on Aaron Rodgers' real feelings towards Bill Belichick after viral trade rumor

2023 marks a new era for Aaron Rodgers, as he will be quarterbacking the New York Jets after almost two decades with the Green Bay Packers. But before he was traded to Gang Green, he very nearly joined forces with Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots.

And Pat McAfee has new details about his near-move to Foxboro. He said on his eponymous show:

"Our source says that Aaron loves Bill Belichick. He has massive respect... A little bit of maybe."

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What was said about Aaron Rodgers becoming a Patriot?

Speaking on his eponymous FS1 show, Craig Carton claimed almost a week ago that the New England Patriots had reached out to Aaron Rodgers regarding a trade, but he rejected it:

"Aaron Rodgers almost wasn't a Jet. 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.'"

While it is unknown why the Patriots approached Rodgers, it may have been related to Bill Belichick's then-ongoing tensions with Mac Jones, whom he had benched for Bailey Zappe at a stretch of the 2022 season.

But a day later, former GM Michael Lombardi refuted the rumors when speaking to Pat McAfee, saying:

"I don't think at that point I think New England was going through the offseason of what were they were going to do with their offense, how could they make Mac Jones better and try to clear up the problems that they went through last year in terms of coordinating the offense? I think once that season ended, it became more of a scheme reality than a coaching reality."

And even with Rodgers sharing the same agent as former Patriot Drew Bledsoe, New England would still have not pursued him:

"And you know, Dave Dunne, who represents Aaron Rodgers, also represented Drew Bledsoe at the Patriots at one time. So, you know, I don't know what his relationship is within that building. Certainly he has a lot of say in terms of what teams could be interested.

"But I don't think on the timeline that that would be conducive to where the Patriots were going. I mean, if you're interested in Aaron Rodgers, then I think you're also interested in other quarterbacks and that wasn't the case or what the evidence supports after Rodgers was already available."