In his 21 years as an NFL starter, quarterback Tom Brady was afraid of two things: losing his teammates’ trust and being replaced. He played many games through pain and returned quickly after injuries because if there’s one constant in the NFL, it’s that everyone is replaceable. After all, he had done it to the New England Patriots’ Drew Bledsoe. Decades later, the latter still holds that against him.

“You were the worst backup quarterback in the history of the NFL,” Drew Bledsoe told Brady from the latter’s induction into the New England Patriots Hall of Fame in 2024. “You never understood that when I got healthy, you were supposed to go sit the hell down.”

While it was just a humorous jab, the move changed the trajectories of everyone involved: Brady, Belichick, Bledsoe, and the Patriots. And somehow, somewhere, it always pinched at the former QB’s heart.

“I remember being excited for our guys, but at the same time, kind of internally a little disheartened,” Bledsoe said of Brady’s first Lombardi win in the 2021 ESPN+ documentary Man in the Arena. “Like, man, battled through a lot of stuff to try to get to this point, and now arrived here, but the other guy got to play.

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“By about 11 o’clock the next morning, I was sitting on a chairlift skiing in Whitefish, Montana. And I remember I got on the chairlift and I was by myself. I put my goggles on, my helmet, and I sat there. I was all by myself, and I just cried. I just sat there, and it was the first time I just kind of let it all come crashing down on me.”

To understand where the quip came from, let’s rewind to the Patriots’ 2001 season. In their Week 2 matchup against the New York Jets, the veteran suffered a life-threatening sheared blood vessel in his chest and a hemothorax after a hit by linebacker Mo Lewis.

Then, the fresh-faced, slightly pudgy sixth overall pick from the 2000 NFL Draft took the home field at Foxborough Stadium with 2:16 left in the game and the Patriots trailing 10-3. While the team lost, Brady made a special connection with Troy Brown and gave a glimpse of his potential to the mastermind head coach, Bill Belichick.

That season, the No. 12 started 14 of 15 games, winning 11. The last of which was an improbable Super Bowl win over the St. Louis Rams (now LA Rams). Here’s what’s interesting, though: Bledsoe did return to the lineup before that.

The former QB1 filled in for an injured Brady and helped the Patriots win the AFC Championship Game against the top dogs of the division, the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, Brady still held on to the starting job for Super Bowl XXXVI, winning his first of six with the Patriots.

With Belichick fixated on keeping Brady as his primary signal caller, Bledsoe was traded to the Buffalo Bills the next year. But he was never the same again. After a three-year stint in Buffalo and two years with the Dallas Cowboys, he eventually retired from the sport in 2006.

While Bledsoe’s entire NFL career changed because of that one decision, he doesn’t really hold any grudge against Brady.

“The only thing greater than your accomplishments as a quarterback and your awards is the person that you are,” Drew Bledsoe noted.

So, while he learned a lesson himself, he also taught Brady that once a younger player replaces you, there’s no coming back, even if that player came into the league with the least fanfare. In fact, in The Dynasty, Brady recalls how afraid he was that some other QB could always replace him if he didn’t win for his team or lost the confidence of his teammates.

That’s something Brady kept close to his heart. The rest, as they say, is history.

After his first Lombardi Trophy win, Brady secured his place as the Patriots’ QB1 for the next 18 years, where he won five more Super Bowls and 17 AFC East titles. After friction with Belichick, Brady moved to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, winning his seventh Super Bowl ring and establishing himself as one of the greatest players in NFL history.

But being replaced wasn’t the only lesson he learned from Bledsoe.

Tom Brady once revealed how Bledsoe helped him become a great teammate

Like most veteran quarterbacks, Bledsoe wasn’t exactly excited to see Brady take the reins of his team. However, he was also ready to take one for the team, even if it came at his own loss. For one, TB12 always knew that.

“When I look at what Drew went through, I look at someone who was very unselfish. I think that lesson’s embedded in me,” Brady said in the ESPN docuseries Man in the Arena.

“There’s nothing you can accomplish in football without everyone else, without the team, without the coaches, without the fans, without your families. It’s the ultimate team sport.”

Over the 23 years he played in the NFL, his teammates became his priority. Not only was he always available for them, but he would play through thumb and toe injuries because he knew the team needed him. But that’s not to say it hasn’t put him in difficult situations.

Case in point, his ACL and MCL tear in the opening game of the 2008 season after his first MVP season. Since Brady wanted to return quickly to the field, he would hasten his rehab. Lo and behold, he got an infection in the wound, with the doctors strictly asking him to stay put and let the wound heal in due course. However, Brady was back in the lineup for Week 1 of the 2009 season to win the Comeback Player of the Year.

He had many more Super Bowl wins and MVP honors, but he never missed any other game due to an injury. He ultimately became the example of longevity in the game of football.

He no longer wishes to play or coach. But today, he remains connected with football as a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, where he tried to recruit an important member of the Patriots coaching staff ahead of the 2026 season.

Tom Brady’s Raiders attempt to poach Patriots coach

As Brady continues to navigate life as a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, the franchise, after a disappointing 3-14 season, has attempted to hire an important coach from the Super Bowl runner-ups, the New England Patriots. Ahead of the 2026 season, the Las Vegas front office attempted to bring in Pats quarterback coach Ashton Grant.

“Patriots QB coach Ashton Grant has decided to remain in New England rather than discuss the vacant offensive coordinator job with the Las Vegas Raiders,” NFL insider Adam Schefter reported. “Grant now officially will be staying in New England to continue helping with the development of Drake Maye.”

Of course, the Raiders still need to confirm their quarterback position, which has not been stable for a long time now. They have the first-overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, where they can sign the reigning Heisman winner and the National champion, Fernando Mendoza. They can also choose to trade a veteran player under the center for that pick, and also gain multiple other picks for the future.

For now, what will happen next with the Raiders remains to be seen as Brady continues to gain more say in the franchise’s decisions. However, one thing that will never change is how the kid from the Michigan Wolverines who entered Foxborough with the least fanfare won everyone’s hearts.