There was a lot of talk about Tom Brady’s trust tree during his 20 seasons with the New England Patriots. But what happened when a pass-catcher fell out of said trust tree?
Brady revealed Wednesday morning on SiriusXM’s “Howard Stern Live” what he would tell Patriots head coach Bill Belichick about wide receivers who were underperforming in New England’s offense.
“I would say, ‘I don’t have any trust that this guy can help us win the game,’ ” Brady said. “I’ve definitely expressed my opinion to say ‘If you put him out there, I’m not going to throw him the ball.’ The whole team is trusting me to do what’s right by the team, so you can’t put someone out there who I don’t believe in. Because if I don’t believe in him, it’s worthless for the team. I think fortunately for me, Coach Belichick always saw it the same way as me, which is why I think we had such a great connection. He saw football very much the same way that I saw it. All the coaches that I worked with on a daily basis, they want the same thing.”
The Patriots drafted six wide receivers in the first three rounds of the NFL draft since 2003, and none clicked with Brady. The Patriots took N’Keal Harry in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft, and the young wideout caught 12 passes for 105 yards with two touchdowns in his rookie season.
Brady left the Patriots in free agency this offseason to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He revealed to Stern he knew he’d probably leave the Patriots before last season began.
Brady also told Stern he cried the night before he announced he would leave New England when he went to Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s house and called Belichick to reveal the news.
