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It's no secret Tom Brady was unhappy when the New England Patriots drafted Jimmy Garoppolo in 2014. The Patriots drafted the Eastern Illinois product because Brady was 36-years-old and the Patriots were preparing for his play to decline.
But Brady's latest episode of his "Man in the Arena" documentary on ESPN+ went into great detail on the situation. The seven-time Super Bowl champion didn't sugarcoat how he felt.
He also shared his thoughts on Bill Belichick's quotes to the media.
Tom Brady was irked by Bill Belichick's comments right after drafting Jimmy Garoppolo
Tom Brady referenced Belichick's response to the media when formulating his response to the situation. Belichick had to answer many questions on why the Patriots took Garoppolo.
The head coach responded that age was a factor. Brady didn't appreciate being disrespected simply for his age, saying the following in his documentary,
“… Now, we drafted Jimmy higher. Coach Belichick referenced my age to me, referenced it to media. In my mind, I was thinking, ‘What are you talking about?’ I think he was just referencing, well, not many quarterbacks have ever played and been successful late in their career, and that’s just a fact. Of course, for me, I was just like, I don’t care about any of those things.”
Also Read: Tom Brady has a hilarious response for former Patriots teammate wanting to feature in Man in the Arena documentary.
Understandably, Tom Brady felt disrespected from that standpoint. Although it also makes sense that Belichick was thinking about the long-term future of his team.
Hindsight has always been 20-20, and before Brady, there hadn't been an NFL quarterback who'd ever aged gracefully. Brady was still playing at a high level in 2013.
But the common consensus around the Patriots building and the league was that age would inevitably catch up.
Tom Brady also notes in his documentary that he never saw himself aging in the traditional sense. He was making it an active point to take care of himself to prolong his career. He said,
“From the team standpoint, again, you’re always looking to: what’s going to happen if Tom retires? What’s going to happen if Tom isn’t the player he is?” “I never thought about those things, because I didn’t think of myself as aging in a traditional way. I was really beginning to understand how to take care of myself. I was really beginning to understand the game, how to study, how to be more efficient. I was really beginning to understand how to train, how to communicate more effectively with my teammates."
Garoppolo lasted with the Patriots until 2017, and the rest is history. Brady went on to have a whole new chapter in his career from 2017 through to the present day, where he's still one of the best quarterbacks in the league.
Garoppolo has faired alright for himself on his own away from the Patriots. In fact, with some analytics, he's better than his basic statistics suggest.
Tom Brady has defied logic by aging as gracefully as he has. Everything has seemed to work out well for both sides, nevertheless. The Patriots and Mac Jones have a bright future ahead.
Meanwhile, Brady's stint with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers has been successful and enjoyable for him.
Also Watch: Tom Brady's wife, Gisele Bundchen, reveals why she let her modeling career take a backseat
