"You get changed by the Patriot way" - When Bill Belichick's Patriots decided Aaron Hernandez was worth the risk
Long-time Patriots fans remember Aaron Hernandez as a terror on the football field, but his off-the-field troubles left many troubled in a different way. Back in college, when he was with the Florida Gators, the tight end might have failed six separate drug tests, according to the Boston Globe via USA Today.
He also got in trouble for getting into a fight with a bouncer at a bar. According to the Orlando Sentinel via USA Today, he was also questioned in connection with a shooting that injured two men. However, he had a period where he was believed to be keeping his nose clean. By the end of 2008, his college head coach Urban Meyer and others thought his troubles were over.
After leaving college to join the drafting process after the end of the 2009 season, multiple team executives were turned off by his questionable past. However, Hernandez said that he could to prove he was a changed man, admitting regret and claiming he had changed.
The Patriots agreed, picking the tight end in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. The Patriots were known for running a tight ship, and some, including Aaron Hernandez, agreed that the discipline was a good, changing force for him.
"You get changed by the Bill Belichick way; you get changed by the Patriot way," Aaron Hernandez said.
What happened to Patriots TE Aaron Hernandez?
Aaron Hernandez played for the New England Patriots from 2010-2012. During his three seasons with the team, he earned 1,956 yards on 175 catches and had 18 touchdowns. Hernandez was part of one of the Patriots teams to get to the Super Bowl.
In 2011, after a dominant regular season, his team stared down Eli Manning for the second time in two Super Bowl trips. Like their last Super Bowl matchup, the team succumbed to Manning in a low scoring contest, falling 21-17. In the game, he caught eight passes for 67 yards and a touchdown.
The only tight-end duos in NFL history to catch multiple touchdown passes in the same season as rookie teammates, according to Cowboys PR:
2010: Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez
2012: Dwayne Allen and Coby Fleener
2022: Jake Ferguson and Peyton Hendershot
While he claimed to be a changed man, scandal and legal trouble followed him. Hernandez was accused of shooting Alexander Bradley in the face, partially paralyzing him. It was later learned that the reason for this was to keep him quiet about a double-murder Hernandez had committed prior.
Aaron Hernandez was so good at football man if only he wasn’t a k1ll3r twitter.com/tombradydaily/…
He was sent to prison and committed suicide in his jail cell in 2017, according to NBC Sports. No suicide note was left behind.