Patriots’ awkward offseason continues
Foundation shows cracks as Brady hints at feeling underappreciated
“But there’s no people I’d rather play for or be committed to than the team that I’ve been with for a long time.”
Tom Brady
The Patriots’ awkward offseason continued this week when Tom Brady passed on the chance to squash concerns over the state of the franchise, instead hinting that he feels under-appreciated and has only “moments” of happiness while at work.
During a lengthy interview with broadcaster Jim Gray on Monday at the Milken Institute Global conference in California, Brady was asked about the level of support he receives from coach Bill Belichick and owner Robert Kraft and whether they have “the appropriate gratitude” for what he’s accomplished. Brady answered with an exaggerated “I plead the Fifth!”
then smiled as his response drew some chuckles.
Perhaps he thought a moment of levity would save him, but it didn’t go unnoticed that the five-time Super Bowl champion and three-time league MVP never definitively answered.
“Man, that is a tough question,” Brady said. “I think everybody in general wants to be appreciated more at work, in their professional life. But there’s a lot of people that appreciate me way more than I ever thought was possible as part of my life. You have different influences in your life and the people I work with, and I think they’re trying to get the best out of me.
“I think what I’m learning, as you get older, is it comes from within — the joy, the happiness, those things come from inside,” he continued. “To seek that from others, to seek that from outside influences — people you work with — people that cheer against you or cheer with you, I feel like it comes from within for me.”
Asked if he is happy with the organization at this point in his career, Brady said, “I have my moments,” before explaining he always tries to take a glass half-full view. There is no team he’d rather play for than the Patriots, he said. But speaking of Belichick, Brady did admit, “he’s not the easiest coach to play for.”
It’s hard to say how differently Brady might feel had the Patriots won Super Bowl LII. Regardless, he still endured a year in which he and Belichick clashed over his personal trainer’s access to the team facility, among other reported issues. We’ll never know. But Brady has now spoken, and those incidents continue to shape the narrative surrounding the organization.
The drafting of Jimmy Garoppolo in 2014 and subsequent grooming of the young quarterback never sat well with Brady, who still sees himself as fit, effective, darn near ageless and on track to play until his mid-40s. Seth Wickersham’s piece for ESPN The Magazine last season chronicled how the perceived threat by Garoppolo continued to gnaw at Brady last season. The Patriots eventually traded the young passer to the 49ers for a sub and a bag of chips. Belichick had always seen Garoppolo as the future, but keeping Brady happy was a higher priority for Kraft, Wickersham explained.
Brady led the Patriots back to the Super Bowl, but they fell short to Philadelphia —though not due to any fault of their four-time Super Bowl MVP. Many have blamed Belichick because of his inexplicable decision to bench cornerback Malcolm Butler (the hero of Super Bowl XLIX) during a game when New England collapsed defensively. Players — Brady included — felt like that decision by Belichick wasted a hard-fought opportunity for another ring.
Last season, more than ever, cracks appeared evident in the foundation of this dynasty, and speculation of ongoing discontent only grew as Brady and Rob Gronkowski stayed away from the team’s voluntary workouts.
Many expected the Patriots to draft another replacement for Brady last week. Instead, they only took a seventhround flyer on LSU’s Danny Etling.
Yet Brady still evidently has some frustrations. His age probably has something to do with it. The NFL routinely chews up players and spits them out and moves on to the next shiny toy. Even Joe Montana failed to feel the love late in his time with the 49ers, just before they traded him to Kansas City in order to turn to Steve Young. So it’s not paranoia plaguing Brady.
But who is he kidding? There’s nothing warm and fuzzy about The Patriot Way. Belichick makes it clear to his play- ers that, despite varying degrees of star power, no one is above the team. No one is sacred. Brady should (and surely does) know this.
“You have relationships for a long time,” he said. “They ebb and flow like every relationship, but there’s no people I’d rather play for or be committed to than the team that I’ve been with for a long time, and really the fans, the community.”
After saying Belichick isn’t the easiest to play for, Brady did tip his cap to the coach, noting, “he’s the best for me. I think what he’s proven is that whatever talent he has, he maximizes talent. What more could you ask of a coach than that? That’s what I want as a player.”
Yet you can’t help but wonder, how much longer will Brady’s agenda align with his team’s?