Craig Carton lauds Aaron Rodgers for snubbing Patriots in favor of Jets - “You don’t go play for Satan”
Craig Carton revealed one interesting story from the Aaron Rodgers' trade to the New York Jets and it was that one of their AFC East rivals tried to hijack the trade.
Bill Belichick apparently wanted to get Aaron Rodgers to the New England Patriots but it did not come to fruition because of the player's wishes. Reportedly, the franchise made an offer to the Green Bay Packers but the player's agent turned them down.
Beyond the reporting of the story, Craig Carton supported the decision saying that Aaron Rodgers going there would not have been good. He said:
"You don’t go play for Satan."
In the show, it was further highlighted that it would have been a bad decision for the quarterback because his legacy would have immediately been compared to that of Tom Brady.
If he had not distinguished himself with such success as the former Patriots quarterback did, there was every chance that Rodgers would have been deemed a failure.
Aaron Rodgers is arguably a better fit for the New York Jets and it seemed his mind was made up to go there. A quarterback needs familiarity with the systems, more than anything else, to succeed.
Going to the Jets allowed him to reunite with Nathaniel Hackett, under whom he had such success with the Green Bay Packers and won two MVP titles. Their addition of Allen Lazard, a receiver he had played with before he joined, would have undoubtedly helped convince him as well.
.@craigcartonlive says the Patriots made an offer for Aaron Rodgers 😳
"The Patriots made an offer for Aaron Rodgers, and he refused to play for New England." https://t.co/qncsVLx6pS
Why would Bill Belichick want Aaron Rodgers?
The New England Patriots have Mac Jones as their starting quarterback and Bailey Zappe as their backup. It is not like they need a quarterback change immediately.
But for Bill Belichick, one thing that could be gnawing at him is that he has not won a Super Bowl without Tom Brady. The quarterback, on the other hand, went to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and lifted the Lombardi Trophy in his first season.
He proved, in a way, that he could succeed with a different coach. The Patriots head coach has not been able to prove so yet.
Getting a quarterback of the caliber of Rodgers would have immediately put him in a position to right that perceived wrong. However, the Jets have a much better defense at the moment and their offense is arguably better with new additions such as Lazard and Randall Cobb. That's not even to mention Garrett Wilson.
Aaron Rodgers believes the Jets could have the best corner (Sauce Gardner) and the best receiver (Garrett Wilson) in the NFL very soon https://t.co/WIaHZSLRCB
Based on those parameters, it seems inarguable that Aaron Rodgers made the right decision in rejecting the Patriots and going to the Jets. Only time will tell the rest now.