Joe Montana Addresses Tom Brady’s Departure From New England

Joe Montana was the first to advise Tom Brady to stay on New England Patriots. But, Brady left the New England Patriots and signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“I don’t know what’s going on inside there, but somebody made a mistake,” Montana said.

The NFL legend did something a generation ago when the San Francisco 49ers sent him t0 Kansas City. In Brady’s case, the Patriots just followed his wish. He wanted out. TB12 forced his way out on the market with a clause in the final Patriots contract that prevented the organization from putting a franchise tag to keep him.

“I think when you look at the whole situation, you try to figure out how you want to get away from things that are there,” Montana said. “I had a different story, where they had made a decision. He, obviously, they never would have gotten rid of. I still don’t understand how New England let him get away. I don’t understand that.”

Montana was one of Brady’s idols. Patriots owner Robert Kraft claims to have done everything to keep Brady on the roster. Brady has nothing but words of praise for the Kraft family and head coach Bill Belichick. But, Montana talked to Brady at Super Bowl LIV. Something changed at that point.

“It’s not about appreciation,” Montana said. “He wants control. I mean, he wants a lot of control. I don’t know what Tampa Bay gave him, but at some point in time, you’re just a player. You can try to get what you can and do what you want, but in the end, you’re still not in the hierarchy when it comes to hiring people, firing people and all that.

“I don’t know exactly what he’s looking for, but my understanding was that he’s just looking for more control of the offense. But I don’t know. I haven’t had a long conversation with him; I talked to him a little bit at the Super Bowl, but not enough time to really get in-depth.”

Joe Montana relates to Tom Brady’s decision to leave New England

Montana is probably the only person to relate to Brady. TB12 has won six Super Bowls. He must be excited about the new beginning. This is his time to shine, and he will surely use it wisely.

“What he wants is a bit more weapons,” Montana said. “But more weapons doesn’t always mean you’re going to continue to win. There were times we had a lot of weapons later in my career, but we had up and down years; Steve (Young) had up and down years with the same group. That’s not always the case that happens with it.

“I mean, you can go back at look at the Super Bowls that (the Patriots) won. They won a lot of close ones, but it’s still about the people, how they fit into that offensive system, how they’re doing in understanding each other. You go back and people probably can’t even remember my first two groups of receivers in those first two Super Bowls, other than Dwight (Clark).

“Sometimes you’ve got to be careful of what you wish for. Sometimes you get it and it becomes a little more pressure if they don’t perform. Those guys have put up some big numbers, but in a different style of offense. It’ll be interesting to see what they mix in with what they did in New England with what they’re going to do and continue to use and had success with in Tampa.”