As they gear up for the regular season, NFL teams often make tough decisions that aren’t always popular among teammates and fans.
Count the Logan Mankins trade among those decisions.
The New England Patriots surprised many last week by trading the Pro Bowl offensive lineman to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in return for tight end Tim Wright and a 2015 fourth-round draft pick.
After the trade, reports began surfacing that Patriots players, among them quarterback Tom Brady, weren’t too happy with Mankins’ departure.
Brady was asked about the trade during his weekly appearance on WEEI’s “Dennis & Callahan” morning radio show, and he reiterated how important Mankins was to the team.
“I love Logan, Logan was a great friend of mine. Nobody stood for Patriot football more than him,” Brady said, via WEEI.com. “But he’s moved on. I hope he’s happy. We’ll keep in touch.”
Brady would not deny the report that he was very upset with the team for trading Mankins, but insisted he’s moving on from it.
“We’ve got a game to win. I can’t really think too much about what happened in the past,” Brady said. “Like I said, yeah, I dealt with whatever feelings I had last week, but I’ve moved on. I’ve got to move on, because that’s what this team expects me to do. …
“I am a very emotional person. I don’t think those things have ever gotten easier for me. And I don’t think they ever will. But you’ve got to come to grips with it also and learn to deal with things in a mature way.”
The Patriots travel to Miami to face the Dolphins in Sunday’s season opener at Sun Life Stadium.
