Tom Brady's ascension to the annals of footballing history came at a cost to former Patriots standout Drew Bledsoe.
You probably know the story already. Back in 2001, Bledsoe, then New England's starting QB, crumbled to the turf after taking a shot from Jets linebacker Mo Lewis in the second game of the season. In stepped Brady, a sixth-round pick from the year before. He didn't relinquish his starting role for another 23 years, retiring as the game's greatest-ever hurler.
Bledsoe wasn't quite as lucky. He bounced around the league for a few more seasons, even earning a Pro Bowl selection in 2002 with the Bills. However, he wasn't able to put down roots like he had in Boston during those prior nine years. Bledsoe retired in 2006 at the tender age of 34
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Given the way their careers turned out following that fateful autumn day, one could expect resentment to form between Brady and Bledsoe. That hasn't been the case, though. In fact, the pairing appears to be thick as thieves, at least compared to your average former starter-backup duo.
With that, here's a look at Brady and Bledsoe's relationship over the years.
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Tom Brady-Drew Bledsoe relationship, explained
To understand Brady and Bledsoe's relationship, one has to understand just how high-profile Bledsoe was at his pomp. The Pats made the Washington State product the first overall pick in the 1993 NFL Draft, selecting Bledsoe over Hall of Famers Willie Roaf (who went No. 8), Jerome Bettis (who went No. 10), Michael Strahan (who went No. 40), Will Shields (who went No. 74), and John Lynch (who went No. 82).
It was a testament to Bledsoe's tools and potential that New England coveted him as much as it did. He paid the Pats back for their faith by leading them to a Super Bowl and making three Pro Bowls in his first five years in the league.
Bledsoe also had charisma. He appeared in Tom Cruise's 1996 hit film Jerry Maguire, and he starred in a litany of nationally-televised advertisements.
All of that is to say, Bledsoe was a star. He just got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time on Sept. 23, 2001, when Lewis detonated on him and knocked him out of the game.
"It was the loudest hit I could ever remember hearing," Brady said, according to NFL.com. "Drew was so tough, and he got up and came to the sideline and his face mask was smashed. I saw and heard the hit, and it was a crushing hit."
Bledsoe left the contest with a concussion and internal bleeding in his chest. With Bledsoe on the mend, Brady took the reins of Bill Belichick's offense. He wouldn't let go until 2020.
Bledsoe was the odd-man out in New England amid Brady's budding greatness. He was shipped to AFC East rivals Buffalo in the offseason. It was a bittersweet experience for Bledsoe, who enjoyed Brady's presence as a teammate and friend but felt he deserved to lead New England out on the field.
"With Tom it was bittersweet — love the guy," Bledsoe said, per NESN. "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."
Nevertheless, Bledsoe never could stay upset at Brady for long.
"If Tommy was an (expletive), it would have been really, really hard to do that," Bledsoe said. "But he’s not.”
Their careers took separate paths, but things have remained cordial between the two hurlers ever since. In fact, the duo share a strong friendship with one another, so much so that it was Bledsoe who jumped to his former colleague's defense amid claims that Brady was a liar and a cheat during the "Deflategate" fiasco.
"Tommy and I are friends," Bledsoe said back in 2015, per Boston.com. "...To see a guy who has impeccable integrity being accused of being a liar and a cheater, I finally had to stand up and say something. It started to make me mad."
Their friendship has blossomed in the years since Bledsoe stepped away from the game. Bledsoe shed light on it during a recent interview with Kay Adams, weaving a tale about his first interaction with Brady's ex-wife, Gisele Bundchen. Bledsoe explained that Bundchen offered him a big hug despite Bledsoe spraying snow on her during a ski trip. The reason why? Brady spoke reverently about Bledsoe in the household. It was only right to embrace him like that, even in the most trying of circumstances.
"There's always great mutual respect between the two of us," Bledsoe said of him and Brady.
Bledsoe also took part in Brady's much-watched roast, which aired on Netflix. He earned plaudits for his wit and humor, conjuring up laughter after shedding light on the fact that his romantic life was much steadier than his former teammate's.
"I've experienced a couple of things that you'll never experience:
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 6, 2024
The feeling of being the No. 1 overall draft pick in the NFL.
And a 28th wedding anniversary; it was yesterday." - Drew Bledsoe to Tom Brady 🏈📺 #TomBradyRoast pic.twitter.com/snGChu4yDa
Bledsoe and Brady are friends in every sense of the word. For the most part, any sort of qualms Bledsoe had with the way his Patriots career came to an end stemmed not from Brady himself, but the circumstances that surrounded his departure. He's also expressed frustration with the way folks have used his name as an afterthought in the harrowing shadow that is Brady's career.
"The only thing that does kind of bother me sometimes though, and this is just being totally honest, I feel like my career has kinda been treated like a footnote — you know, like it's just a footnote to Tom's career," Bledsoe told Colin Cowherd back in 2021.
But as far as friendships go, Bledsoe and Brady are as good as it gets. The Netflix special was simply a reiteration of that phenomenon.