New York’s Prized QB Nearly Poached By Rival, Do You Buy This Wild Twist?

No story in New York sports has been larger this spring than the Jets' acquisition of Aaron Rodgers. The long-rumored union finally came to fruition ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft, and the two sides have seemed like soulmates from the moment Rodgers showed up at the Jets' front door.

That chemistry makes this story, which was floated earlier this morning on a sports roundtable show, even more surprising.

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New York Jets' Prized QB Nearly Poached By Rivals, But Do You Believe It?

On today's edition of "Funny Sports Hypotheticals", we have this story, which came from FS1's flagship morning program, The Carton Show. It was on that show, per Bleacher Report, that host Craig Carton floated the possibility that the Rodgers-to-New York deal was almost negated by the Jets' most bitter rival.

Here's what Carton claimed on his show earlier Friday:

"Aaron Rodgers almost wasn't a Jet. The New England Patriots made an offer to the Green Bay Packers to get Aaron Rodgers, and when Aaron Rodgers heard it, his agent said, 'No, we ain't playing for New England. We want to be a Jet." - Craig Carton on FS1, via Bleacher Report

Do you believe this story? I'll give you my answer, which comes in two parts.

Do I believe that Belichick and the Patriots may have kicked the tires on a deal like this? Sure, absolutely. Things have been anything but smooth between Bill Belichick and his incumbent quarterback, Mac Jones, for quite some time. If Belichick had, or has, his doubts about Jones' future with the team, why wouldn't he take a big swing, and bring in the best QB on the market?

Plus, let's be real here: Belichick's clock is ticking, and if his teams don't start winning again, his job security may begin to decrease.

That all being said, did a concrete deal ever get laid out for the Packers to consider? No, I highly doubt that it ever did. I'd guess that there was a phone call, or a text/email exchange, briefly gauging the Packers' interest in dealing him to New England.

At that point, Green Bay likely took that exchange to Aaron Rodgers' camp, which gave the clear and succinct answer that Carton quoted on his show. I struggle to believe that anything more substantial actually happened.

Do you?