Oct 22, 2023; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick during the second half against the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Bill Belichick joining Pat McAfee for NFL draft-day coverage

Bill Belichick, known as a man of few words while the head coach of the New England Patriots, apparently is ready to share his thoughts about next week’s NFL draft.

Belichick will be part of the team on “The Pat McAfee Show Draft Spectacular,” to air the opening night of the draft on ESPN+, the host announced Wednesday.

The draft will be held April 25-27 in Detroit.

“I’m looking forward to it,” a relaxed-looking Belichick told McAfee. “Draft weekend’s always an exciting time for everybody — for the teams that are building their teams and for the fans and for everybody involved in it, so you know it’s a great event and, yeah, I’m looking forward to seeing it, you know, from the other side. It will be fun to be in Detroit.”

Belichick, known for his frequent trades during the draft, said he expects to chip in what he knows about draft-day dealing.

“I think I can, you know, give a little insight into maybe what the conversations will be in those rounds,” he said. “I’ve made a few trades.”

Belichick and the Patriots agreed to part ways in January, and he was not hired to fill a vacancy during the 2024 coaching cycle. It is widely anticipated that Belichick, who turned 72 on Tuesday, will wind up working in TV in some capacity this fall.

The architect of six Super Bowl-winning teams in New England, Belichick built a 302-165 career record with the Patriots (2000-23) and Cleveland Browns (1991-95).

–Field Level Media

Jan 7, 2024; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8)  walks off of the field before a game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports

Aaron Rodgers out as guest on Pat McAfee’s show

Aaron Rodgers has been cut — by “The Pat McAfee Show.”

McAfee announced at the outset of Wednesday’s show on ESPN that the New York Jets quarterback will no longer appear this season. Rodgers had been scheduled to appear throughout the NFL playoffs, the New York Post reported.

“So ‘Aaron Rodgers Tuesday,’ Season 4, is done,” McAfee told his audience. “There could be a lot of people that are happy with that, myself included, to be honest with you. The way it ended, it got real loud. I am happy that he’s not going to be in my mentions going forward, which is great news.”

McAfee’s decision comes in the wake of Rodgers last week suggesting, falsely, that ABC late-night TV show host Jimmy Kimmel’s name was on soon-to-be-released court documents of people connected to convicted pedophile, the late Jeffrey Epstein, who would ferry friends and associates to his Caribbean island to have trysts with underage girls.

McAfee apologized for his role in Rodgers’ comments about Kimmel but the QB did not.

Disney owns both ABC and ESPN.

In his appearance on Tuesday, Rodgers went after Kimmel some more and ranted about COVID vaccines. He also ribbed sportswriters and an ESPN executive. Rodgers’ beef with Kimmel dates to 2021, when the comedian first went after Rodgers for his cryptic comments about being “immunized” against COVID and then testing positive for the virus.

It was apparently enough for McAfee, who has said previously he paid seven figures for Rodgers’ weekly appearances.

“We’ve given a lot of people who have been waiting for us to fail a lot of ammo, and things to attack us for over the last week,” McAfee said Wednesday. “And we would love to get back to the point where we just move on.”

–Field Level Media

East Rutherford, NJ     November 24, 2023 -- Zach Wilson and Aaron Rodgers of the Jets in the first half as the Miami Dolphins defeated the NY Jets 34-13 at MetLife Stadium on November 24, 2023 in East Rutherford, NJ to play in the first    Black Friday    NFL game.

Aaron Rodgers’ return depends on Jets’ record

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers is getting closer to returning to the field from a torn Achilles, but he isn’t physically ready to make a decision about playing again this season.

Some of the decision-making process will involve whether the Jets have a chance at a playoff berth, he said during his weekly appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday.

Rodgers, who turns 40 on Saturday, suffered the injury on his first series with the Jets during the season opener against the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 11.

“It’s always been, first, am I healthy, and then are we alive, are we in it, are we playing good enough to make a run? Can I step in and protect myself and play at the level that I feel like I’m capable of playing? But the first part is to help so can I protect myself, can I move around the way I want to move around, so there’s a natural progression here to the rehab,” he said.

“And, you know, that’s going to involve actually getting back onto the field to start to do some things that are more football related but again, we’re still not where I can make a decision on playing.”

Behind beleaguered Zach Wilson and his replacement, Tim Boyle, the Jets are 4-7 and currently out of the playoff picture. They host the Atlanta Falcons (5-6) on Sunday.

The four-time NFL Most Valuable Player said Tuesday that doctors haven’t cleared him.

“I think the step is just getting back onto the field and doing some more real football things,” Rodgers said. “Throw to my teammates and go through some individual part of practice. I think will be kind of the next step to see what my lateral movement is like, and after going through some of these more football related moves, how do I respond? How does my leg respond to that?”

–Field Level Media