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Tom Brady is more than a year removed from his departure from the New England Patriots after 20 seasons.
The future first-ballot Hall of Fame quarterback found immediate success with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, leading the franchise to a Super Bowl in his first campaign. However, it hasn’t moved the conversation entirely away from why his tenure with the Patriots came to a close.
Bill Belichick may have pushed Tom Brady out of New England
Tom Brady Sr. added another wrinkle to the discussion during his recent interview with NBC Sports' Tom E. Curran on The Patriots Talk podcast. The elder Brady voiced that he felt his son thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated his time in New England but thought it was time to move in another direction.
Brady Sr. said:
“Tommy is extraordinarily appreciative of everything that happened during his New England career, and he’s more than happy that he’s moved on because it was pretty obvious that the Patriot regime felt that it was time for him to move on. And frankly, it may well have been perfect for Belichick to move on from him.
He added:
“On the other hand. I think the Tampa Bay [Buccaneers] are pretty happy that the decision was made in Foxborough that they didn’t want to afford him or didn’t want to keep him when his last contract came up.”
Brady Sr. stirred the pot a bit more after saying that his son found vindication by winning his seventh Super Bowl last season.
“Damn right. Belichick wanted him out the door and last year he threw [50] touchdowns. I think that’s a pretty good year."
Although Brady has remained hush about why his tenure in New England ended, there were things behind closed doors that led down this path. He certainly could have ended his career with the Patriots, but he and Bill Belichick were not seeing eye-to-eye on the long-term future.
The star quarterback wanted a long-term commitment from Belichick, but he continued to flake at the idea of giving him what he wanted. All that made his success with the Buccaneers that much sweeter, as he not only proved that he has plenty left in the tank to play at an elite level despite being in his mid-40s, but it shows that the Patriots made a mistake.
Brady is now moving forward in the next chapter of his career with Tampa Bay, where the team has a promising future ahead with him leading the charge. He’s off to a tremendous start in his 22nd season with nine touchdown passes with a 113.3 passer rating.
Time will tell what will unfold this season, but Brady, without a doubt, feels fully vindicated by his decision to move on from the Patriots.
