QB Chat: Patriots’ Belichick Addresses Tom Brady Statue and … Aaron Rodgers Status?
New England Patriots’ coach Bill Belichick approves of a Tom Brady statue at Gillette Stadium, but denies the team’s offseason interest in Aaron Rodgers.RICHIE WHITT12 HOURS AGO
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NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTSTom Brady deserves a statue. But the Aaron Rodgers rumor doesn’t warrant any more oxygen.
Those are the stances from New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who addressed both quarterback “issues” Monday morning. (In between revealing that he shockingly is a Taylor Swift “Swiftie”, that is.)
“One night’s really not enough, anywhere close to being enough for the appreciation for what Tom deserves,” Belichick said of Brady during a radio interview on Audacy WEEI 93.7’s The Greg Hill Show. “He’s done an awful lot for this organization, for this franchise, for this city, the National Football League,”
Brady, who led the Pats to six Super Bowls during his 20-year career in Foxboro, will be honored by the team and owner Robert Kraft during the Week 1 home game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Should a statue outside Gillette Stadium be part of the festivities?
Said Belichick, “Give him whatever you want, yeah.”
While the coach is beginning to be haunted by the fact his Pats haven’t won a playoff game since TB12 left after the 2019 season, he’s also tired of the narrative that the Patriots seriously considered trading for Rodgers last offseason.
Last June, FS1 TV host Craig Carton made national headlines when he reported the Patriots made a trade offer to the Green Bay Packers but the four-time MVP refused to play in New England.
“I don’t know what (Carton) is really talking about,” Belichick said. “I personally didn’t talk to the Packers about Aaron Rodgers, no. Aaron Rodgers is a great player, but that wasn’t something that I was aware of.”
Rodgers wound up accepting a trade into the Patriots’ AFC East with the New York Jets. The teams play Sept. 24 at MetLife Stadium and again in Week 18 in Foxboro.