Patriots Owner Robert Kraft Talks About Bill Belichick’s Worst Call: “Tom Brady Can’t Play Anymore”

It seems that Tom Brady’s decision to leave the New England Patriots after the 2019 season and sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was influenced more by Bill Belichick than was first thought.

Patriots Owner Robert Kraft Talks About Bill Belichick’s Worst Call: “Tom Brady Can’t Play Anymore”

After leading the Patriots for 24 seasons, Belichick mutually decided to leave the team this week and informed Robert Kraft that Brady “couldn’t play anymore,” per ESPN.

His statement that Tom Brady was “done” before he went on to win a seventh Super Bowl turned out to be one of his worst mistakes ever.

The most important member of Belichick’s dynasty, Brady, 43, decided to leave Gillette Stadium in 2019 and join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the warmer state of Florida.

There, he helped to finalize his reputation as the greatest NFL player of all time by earning his eighth Super Bowl ring at Raymond James Stadium, as the Buccaneers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9.

“Bill had told me he couldn’t play anymore,” Kraft said after Brady won his seventh Super Bowl with the Buccaneers, “and then he goes out and wins the f–king Super Bowl.”

Brady had a great first campaign in Tampa Bay, and New England was even more sorry to see him go after winning the Super Bowl.

Brady demonstrated that he had what it took to play competitive football by throwing for 40 touchdowns that season and adding an additional 108 in the three years following the Patriots.

Ironically, the young quarterbacks were a major source of criticism for Belichick, who concluded his tenure in New England with a 4-13 record after managing just one winning season following his departure.

He guided the Bucs to an 11-5 record before guiding them to their first Super Bowl victory since 2003. He completed 65.7% of his passes for 4,633 yards and 40 touchdowns against 12 interceptions. His season with 40 touchdowns was his first since he threw for 50 in 2007.

Brady made his return to Gillette Stadium during the 2021 campaign and led the Bucs to a 19-17 win over Belichick’s squad.

Following Brady’s departure, the Patriots have seen a sharp decline, going 29-38 over the last four seasons and missing the playoffs in three of those seasons.

The Patriots’ 4-13 record at the end of the 2023 season was their lowest point in over 20 years and the lowest in the Belichick era.

In the aftermath, after a 24-year run that includes 17 AFC East victories, nine AFC championships, and six Super Bowl titles—all of which Brady was a part of—New England announced that Belichick would no longer be the team’s head coach.

Following Belichick’s departure, the Patriots are now starting over under former linebackers coach Jerod Mayo.

 

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