Tom Brady, Drew Bledsoe Reflect On Patriots Quarterback Controversy

Tom Brady was part of the New England Patriots for two decades. He got the starting job right after Drew Bledsoe suffered a severe injury. Bledsoe recovered and returned to the field, but head coach Bill Belichick decided to move on with Brady as his No.1 quarterback. How did Bledsoe handle the situation? Was he mad at Brady for “stealing” his job as the starter in New England? TB12 discussed the Patriots quarterback controversy and much more in the very first episode of “Tom Brady: Man in the Arena” on Tuesday.

Both Brady and Bledsoe talked about this so-called controversy. It’s interesting to note that Bledsoe agreed to take part in the discussion. This makes us believe he holds no grudge against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback.

“I never looked at it like it was me against Drew,” Brady explained. “He and I personally, we’ve never had an issue. I’m sure it was much harder on him than it was on me because I was the one playing.”

Brady and Bledsoe discuss the Patriots quarterback controversy

It was hard for Bledsoe to accept that Belichick preferred Brady over him. However, he was more than happy to see the team succeed and win a title. Brady took charge of “his” team. He was leading “his Patriots.” As Bledsoe said, “it was bittersweet.”

“With Tom it was bittersweet; love the guy,” the former Patriots signal-caller said. “But at the same time, that’s my job that he’s got. And that’s my team that he’s leading. And I don’t get to go out there and do that. … But I do think that I was able to, in spite of that, actually get my job done and still be supportive. If Tommy was an (expletive), it would have been really, really hard to do that. But he’s not.”

Brady has nothing but great words for Bledsoe and pretty much every superstar in the NFL. Bledsoe is a great person and Brady respects that.

“When Drew got hurt, no one would’ve wanted that, no one hoped for that,” Brady also notes in the episode. “And I think what I respect so much about him is he never let any of those emotions negatively impact me in any way. And I love Drew, and I respected Drew for everything that he had done.”