Amazingly, there was a time when Tom Brady wasn’t considered a surefire Hall of Famer. In fact, there was a time when the New England Patriots weren’t even sure he was good enough to be Drew Bledsoe’s primary backup quarterback.
Charlie Weis, who served as New England’s offensive coordinator from 2000 through 2004, recently threw cold water on the notion that Brady was the obvious heir apparent to Bledsoe, telling Sports Illustrated’s Greg Bedard the team considered Damon Huard before ultimately settling on TB12 as the Patriots’ No. 2 quarterback for the 2001 season.
Huard was the more established quarterback at the time, having been in the league for three seasons and having started six games for the Miami Dolphins between the 1999 and 2000 campaigns. Brady was a sixth-round draft pick who completed only one career NFL pass before taking over for Bledsoe when the latter got hurt Sept. 23, 2001, during a game against the New York Jets.
Yet Bill Belichick and Co. opted to plug in Brady rather than Huard in what turned out to be a franchise-altering move. Four Super Bowl wins later, it’s safe to say the Patriots made the right call.
Thumbnail photo via Stew Milne/USA TODAY Sports Images
