The Patriots are set to play Aaron Rodgers twice this season now that the four-time NFL MVP plays within the AFC on the New York Jets. But it doesn’t sound like Rodgers ever came close to playing 17 games with the Patriots this season.

FS1’s Craig Carton reported earlier this offseason that the Patriots pursued Rodgers before the Jets made a deal with the Green Bay Packers for the 10-time Pro Bowl selection. Belichick didn’t seem aware of the report when asked about it by WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” on Monday morning.

“Yeah, I’m not really sure what you’re referring to,” Belichick said.

“I personally couldn’t speak to that,” he continued. “Listen, there’s a lot of conversations in the offseason between our personnel people and other executives. I don’t know what he’s really talking about. I personally didn’t talk to the Packers about Aaron Rodgers, no.”

Belichick made sure that he wasn’t being dismissive of his new divisional rival.

“Aaron Rodgers is a great player,” Belichick said. “But that’s not really anything we were — I was aware of.”

The Packers traded Rodgers plus first- and fifth-round draft picks to the Jets for 2023 first-, second- and sixth-round picks plus a 2024 conditional second-rounder. The Patriots are set to start 2021 first-round pick Mac Jones at quarterback this season.