Bill Belichick’s controversial claim that Aaron Rodgers still has a future in the NFL has been ripped apart by pundits who believe he is one of many in ‘denial’ about the New York Jets quarterback.
Rodgers, 41, is enduring one of the worst seasons of his illustrious career with the Jets, who appear destined to miss out on the playoffs after winning just three games out of 12 in 2024.
Many are now calling for the four-time MVP, who only recently returned from a serious Achilles injury, to hang up his cleats at the end his disastrous first full campaign in New York, where he has racked up just 2,627 passing yards in 12 games while throwing eight interceptions.
Despite his underwhelming form, Belichick surprisingly tipped Rodgers to ‘rebound and have a good year’ with another team next season, pointing to the likes of Russell Wilson and Geno Smith as previous examples who did the same.
‘These guys that switch teams, they get in a different system, things are a little bit different for them, maybe they learn some things from whatever it was their previous experiences were,’ the legendary former New England Patriots coach said. ‘When a guy has a long career and a good career, sometimes one season is just a bump in the road. It’s not necessarily the end of the road.’
Yet according to the panel on Fox Sports’ ‘First Things First’, Belichick’s view on Rodgers couldn’t be further from the truth.
Bill Belichick’s controversial claim that Aaron Rodgers has a future in NFL has been ripped apart
Rodgers’ ex-Green Bay Packers teammate Greg Jennings even took issue with Belichick’s stance
‘There is so much denial going on around this player,’ analyst Nick Wright said about the Jets star. ‘Why it is not a universally held opinion that Aaron Rodgers is playing his final games in the NFL is beyond me.
‘You can’t create a fake team that would logically sign up for Aaron Rodgers.’
Wright then pulled up some damning statistics on Rodgers; who has gone 1,413 days without a playoff win, 1,039 days without a 300-yard game and 787 days without entering a game with his team above .500.
Rodgers’ former Green Bay Packers teammate Greg Jennings even agreed with Wright’s verdict, while doubting how much Belichick meant what he said as he continues his search for another head coaching job.
‘For me, listening to Bill Belichick, he’s been a coach that you respect, his resume speaks for itself, he’s made some great decisions as it pertains to personnel, he’s also made some bad decisions as it pertains to personnel,’ Jennings said.
‘One of his deals was “I’m not gonna keep a player past their prime.” So to hear him saying this, it’s like… I don’t know if I believe all of it.
‘If he was a head coach in the league today, I don’t believe he would sign up to have Aaron Rodgers as his quarterback.’
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