Why Stephon Gilmore Is ‘Not Surprised’ Tom Brady Left Patriots In Free Agency

Many (well, those who weren’t paying attention) were blindsided when Tom Brady signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — but not Stephon Gilmore.

No, the New England Patriots cornerback wasn’t expecting Brady’s exit, but his former teammate’s departure hardly caught him by surprise. At the end of the day, Brady’s decision to leave New England was just the latest example of the harsh reality of professional sports.

“Not surprised,” Gilmore recently told ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “A player like him, playing somewhere that long, you never can see it, but it shows you that in the National Football League it can be anyone going somewhere. It’s a business, and that’s how you have to look at it.”

At the end of the day, it will be incredibly strange to see Brady play for a team other than the Patriots. Even stranger will be seeing him in a Buccaneers uniform.

But hey, these things happen in the NFL.

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About the Author

Dakota Randall

Plymouth State/Boston University product from Wolfeboro, NH, who now is based in Rhode Island. Have worked at NESN since 2016, covering the Patriots since 2021. Might chat your ear off about Disney World, Halo 2, and Lord of the Rings.