There were many folks around the NFL and football circles in general that wondered what Bill Belichick would say about Aaron Hernandez in today’s press conference. Some speculated that the timing of the event suggested that Belichick would give us more than he usually does at such events. Those people, as it turned out, weren’t entirely wrong, but Bill Belichick certainly didn’t go into much detail when asked about Aaron Hernandez.
The most notable quotes, via Pro Football Talk, from Belichick came when he described Hernandez as “an individual who happened to be a New England Patriot,” and continued to say he was “personally disappointed and hurt in a situation like this.”
“It’s time for the New England Patriots to move on,” Belichick said.
Frankly, the New England Patriots, at least from a management perspective, moved on weeks ago when they cut ties with the tight end. Individual players may have taken longer and may be in that process, but Hernandez was largely a longer on the team according to earlier reports, meaning most players in the locker room probably haven’t actually missed him all that much.
Outside of those brief answers, Belichick stuck with standard responses that don’t give us much information on how the Patriots made their decisions to bring him in or to cut him when they did, although the latter doesn’t really need much explanation.