The rumors that the New England Patriots were courting Aaron Rodgers this offseason are just that. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick made it clear that he never reached out to the Green Bay Packers to discuss a trade for Rodgers.

Craig Carton reported in June that the Patriots offered a trade but that Rodgers refused to play in New England. Belichick is unaware of that happening.

“I personally couldn’t speak to that,” Belichick said on The Greg Hill Show. “There's a lot of conversations in the offseason between our personnel people and other executives.”

“I personally didn’t talk to the Packers about Aaron Rodgers,” Belichick said.

When originally reported, Patriots fans were quick to sniff out the rumor. Belichick reassured their thoughts by shooting down any potential discussion he had about Rodgers becoming a Patriot. Instead, Belichick will have to draw up a game plan to stop Rodgers twice this season as the quarterback found a home with the New York Jets.

Rodgers has played the Patriots three times in his career as a starter, most recently last October. He is 2-1 against New England, tossing six touchdowns and an interception in those games. He completed 60 percent of his passes and threw two touchdowns in an overtime win over the Patriots last season.

By all accounts, Bill Belichick and Aaron Rodgers have mutual respect for each other. Given the opportunity, it wouldn’t be surprising if Rodgers jumped at the chance to play under arguably the greatest coach in NFL history. It appears that opportunity never presented itself.