Former New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is now a member of the Tampa Bay Bucs after two decades and six Super Bowl titles with the only team and head coach that he’s never known.
According to a new report, the stage was set for Brady’s departure from New England as early as 2017.
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Of course, back then the Patriots had up-and-coming quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo poised to take the reigns from the 40 year old Brady. All reports indicate that course of action was what head coach Bill Belichick wanted.
49ers GM reportedly wanted to acquire Garoppolo, but Belichick wanted to part with Brady instead and let the younger Garoppolo take over. However, it looks like Patriots owner Robert Kraft intervened.
“(Robert) Kraft shut that s–t down fast,” says a source close to Belichick. “So, instead, Lynch gets Garoppolo, but Brady, Belichick and Kraft haven’t been the same since Tom learned that Bill was ready to get rid of him. And that lit a fire under his a–.”
According to a former teammate, Brady had been planning his departure from the Patriots ever since.
“He tore up deals after ’17, after ’18, and got it so the Patriots couldn’t [franchise] tag him. Dude was planning this day all along,” speculates another former teammate. “I could have predicted in October 2017 that this day was coming.”
Of course, the size of Brady’s ego is well known. It sure sounds like he didn’t like the fact that Belichick was grooming his replacement and wanted to move on from him.
– – Quotes via Matt Miller of Bleacher Report Link – –
