This generation knows Patrick Mahomes as arguably the best QB in the NFL currently. With already Super Bowl championships under his belt, fans already place the Kansas City Chiefs QB to the prince to the throne of NFL GOAT Tom Brady. Brady’s career in the NFL is one that remains unmatched. Coming in as a 199th overall pick for the New England Patriots in 2000, no one back then would have guessed the way Tom Brady would revolutionize the QB game. And just like Brady, Mahomes has also gone on to prove naysayers wrong, which led to the Chiefs signing a 10-year $450 million contract with him to retain him as a franchise QB in the long run.

But did you know, back when the Pats brought in Brady, they also tried to pull a similar move, just like Mahomes’ contract? The Pats had another young QB prior to Brady, who had gone on to shatter records in the NFL, leading to the team placing their faith in him as QB1. 

The Pats signed a 10-year deal with Drew Bledsoe before the beginning of the dominance of Tom Brady 

The Patriots have quite an interesting history starting from the 1990s. Back in the 90s, the Patriots were severely lacking in the QB department. And with the first-round pick in the 1993 NFL draft, they decided to with the 6’5” strong-armed QB from Washington State, Drew Bledsoe. Bill Parcells was brought in as the new HC that season, and under him. Bledsoe went on to become one of the most prolific pass-makers in the NFL back then.

He ended the Patriots’ seven-year playoff drought and also led the team to a Super Bowl final in 1996. This led to the franchise deciding on negotiating an offer that will keep him on the team for the coming years. In 2001, Bledsoe went on to sign the biggest contract in NFL history back then. He and the Patriots agreed to a 10-year $103 million deal, that ensured that Drew Bledsoe would play his entire career for the Pats The deal back then also surpassed the 10-year $100 million contract the Green Bay Packers signed with Brett Favre. 

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Who Is Drew Bledsoe? The Man Who Tom Brady Replaced at New England Patriots

But one thing about life that remains constant is that it is very unpredictable. And in the same year as his lucrative deal, Bledsoe went on to suffer a major injury, which opened the door to the Tom Brady era. 

The shift in power in the Patriots

During an NFL game on September 2001 against the New York Jets, Jets LB Mo Lewis made a heavy tackle on Bledsoe in the fourth quarter. This tackled injured Bledsoe badly, which led to the team bringing up their backup in the form of Tom Brady. And the rest that followed is history, with Brady leading the team to his first of seven Super Bowl wins at Super Bowl XXXVI that same season. As for Drew Bledsoe, he was traded to the Buffalo Bills after the 2001 season, where he had a great first season. But he was eventually released after 2004, and that is when he reunited with Bill Parcells at the Dallas Cowboys in 2005. But in 2006, he was replaced by a young Tony Romo, before hanging up his cleats for good in April 2007.

Patriots fans will always remember the legacy of Bledsoe and the possibility of what could have happened if the injury did not take place. Despite everything, he still leads a good post-retirement life with his wife, running a double-back winery with his wife in his hometown of Walla Walla in Washington.  

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