The Next Big Thing: Bill Belichick and Aaron Rodgers Rumored to Join Forces
In roughly a week, Aaron Rodgers’s exit from the Jets has gone from a possibility to a given. The only question at this point is whether the release happens before or after the season ends.
Already, folks in league circles who are inclined to connect dots are curious about a potential partnership between Rodgers and . . . Bill Belichick.
Belichick wants to coach next year. If he ends up in a spot where a long-term quarterback isn’t under contract, Rodgers could be a quick fix for a year (maybe two) at the most important position in the game.
Some will say that it won’t work, because Rodgers wouldn’t tolerate the constant hassles and harangues of playing for Belichick. Belichick had no qualms about muthereffing Tom Brady in front of teammates. Rodgers probably wouldn’t respond well to that.
But Belichick is smart enough to know that a different approach will be needed for Rodgers. And Belichick will happily tiptoe around the delicate genius, if that’s what it takes to get the most out of Rodgers.
Obviously, two of the most likely destinations for Belichick — Jacksonville and Dallas — wouldn’t allow for a Rodgers acquisition. Trevor Lawrence and Dak Prescott received massive, market-level contracts this year. They couldn’t be traded or released, and benching them would make no sense.
So where are the places where Belichick could bring Rodgers with him? The places without a quarterback in place for 2025?
The only apparent options would be the Raiders, the Saints. And, yes, the Giants.
Think about that one. Belichick has been linked to the Giants for years. Rodgers wouldn’t even have to move. And co-owner John Mara, reeling from a season more embarrassing than most, would be able to stick it to the Jets and Woody Johnson. Ditto for Belichick (who has made no effort to hide his disdain for Johnson) and Rodgers (who is potentially in the process of exiling his current boss to “the island”).
It’s far from being probable. But it’s possible.
