Rumor: Patriots made trade offer to acquire Aaron Rodgers, quarterback vetoed it

Now that OTAs and minicamps across the league are over and training camp doesn't start for several weeks, we are now at the point of the offseason when random rumors without much validity start to create headlines.

The latest of which comes from Fox Sports host Craig Carton.

Earlier this week, Carton revealed information he claimed to have received from a source that the Patriots had made an offer to trade for Aaron Rodgers before he chose to go to the Jets.

Other than potentially groundbreaking news, Carton went further and claimed that Rodgers immediately vetoed the trade, saying he would never want to play in New England. Ever.

He also suggested that Rodgers was adamant about wanting to play for the Jets, with fellow members of the show's panel claiming New York is far better than New England, which given the teams' histories, is quite laughable.

Despite the obvious unlikeliness of this rumor having much truth, it seems more like a ploy to take a shot at the Patriots for their noticeable decline since Tom Brady's departure in an attempt to further push the overhype of where the Jets and their fans view the team's chances of winning right now.

Of course, Rodgers' addition could certainly project New York into postseason contention, especially with the offseason additions they brought in and a seemingly decent draft. But the Jets have been historically bad and haven't made the playoffs since the 2010 season.

So can a quarterback alone help bring a known unsuccessful team to the playoffs?

Perhaps, but also perhaps not.

With a rumor like this now out there, it puts even more pressure on the Jets to deliver. They've already been named as potential winners of the AFC East, with most of the reason being put behind the addition of Rodgers, and the quarterback has already mentioned wanting to bring another Lombardi Trophy to New York.

If he cannot deliver, just like he did during the majority of his time in Green Bay, wouldn't that be a giant disappointment?

Regardless of what happens with the Jets' 2023 season, this rumor is just a bit absurd. Other than trying to pile on the Patriots' misfortune over the last three seasons, it's also a way to add more to the "Belichick doesn't like Mac Jones" drama that has needed to end for some time.

We're unlikely to hear any clarification about this from Belichick or anyone else for quite some time, if ever, and maybe that's how it should be.