According to Carton, all this happened before Bill O’Brien, the former head coach of the Houston Texans and most recently the offensive coordinator of the Alabama Crimson Tide, was named the Patriots’ new offensive coordinator. Carton also claims that Rodgers’ camp stated that the quarterback would retire if he were traded to the Patriots.
Bill O'Brien was hired in late January, by the way.
I'm sure the NY media will pick up on this and get Rodgers' take on it all, complete with revisionist comments.

As for BO'B, I'd probably rather play for Saleh and Hackett too. LOL
The inevitable comparisons to Brady likely made it a non-starter for AR (even if Brady's NE teams were largely better).

Personally, I don't make a lot out of it, aside from the reported timing of the trade inquiry. SF inquired about Rodgers too, as I'm sure many teams did, however casually. Anytime a marquee level QB is likely to be traded a team would be negligent to at least determine the asking price.