Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady spoke lengthily about his upcoming return to Foxborough when the defending Super Bowl champions visit his former squad, the New England Patriots, on Sunday at Gillette Stadium. Brady played for 20 seasons with the Patriots under coach Bill Belichick and won six Super Bowl titles before he signed a two-year deal worth $50 million with the Buccaneers last offseason. He won his seventh Super Bowl title when he led the Buccaneers to a 31-9 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV. Days before Brady makes his return to Foxborough, a book written by Seth Wickersham was released, where it was mentioned about the fractured relationship between the quarterback and Belichick.
Brady claims he has great relationship with Belichick
But during his talk with the media on Thursday, the 44-year-old Brady rejected the book’s claims saying "we had a great relationship." "I think it was handled the right way. We handled everything as gracefully as we could. It was an amazing time and It was handled perfectly," said Brady, adding that everyone involved in the situation understood where they were at, per Nick Shook of NFL.com. Brady said this week is not about his return to the place where he played for 20 seasons but about the game between two good football teams. The veteran quarterback said he’s just excited to go to Foxborough and try to bring his team back on the winning track by beating his former squad.
Last week, the Buccaneers’ 10-game winning streak dating back to last season ended when they lost to the Los Angeles Rams, 34-24. "Last week was a huge test, we didn't quite meet it. This is another huge test. We got to go meet the challenge," said Brady, who is just 68 yards from setting a new all-time passing yards record currently being held by Drew Brees.
Brady says he learned a lot in New England
During the interview, Brady said that he learned a lot and had a lot of incredible memories during his 20-year stint in New England. "I still have a lot of great friends there, but they know I want to kick their butts this week. So they'll know exactly how I'm feeling once I'm out there," said Brady, who is also expected to set a new NFL record when he faces Patriots quarterback Mac Jones on Sunday.
Brady is 21 years, one month and two days older than the 23-year-old Jones -- largest age gap between two starting quarterbacks in any game in NFL history. Brady and Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert currently hold the record at 20 years old, which they set last year, per Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. However, the record may not stand for long as the Buccaneers are set to play other teams with young quarterbacks, like the Chicago Bears’ Justin Fields, who won’t turn 23 until March 5, and the New York Jets’ quarterback Zach Wilson, who is only 21 years old.
