Tom Brady knows where he stands with the New England Patriots. He also knows where he stands in his career. That is why the quarterback was not surprised when the team opted to draft a rookie in the second round. However, while the Patriots appear to be grooming his successor, Brady is making sure no one counts him out for the next several years.
While speaking with Peter King of The MMQB.com, Brady noted that he was not blindsided by the addition of Jimmy Garoppolo, nor is he feeling the pressure of two young players sitting right behind him.
"I felt like I had a pretty good idea we'd take a quarterback," Brady said. "Coach Belichick doesn't care who the quarterback is here. He's always going to play the guy who he thinks gives him the best chance to win. It's not my role to choose players here, thankfully. And this is not the first time they've taken another quarterback either. There's no entitlement in the NFL. I don't expect to be given anything. I just hope I'm the one most entitled to play that position for a long time here."
The Patriots used a second-round draft pick on Garoppolo for a reason. Brady is 36 and while he is showing zero signs of slowing down, the Patriots want to be prepared for when he finally does. How much longer Brady plays is unknown, but the quarterback told King that he still feels as excited as ever to get on the football field and predicts that happening for many years to come.
"There's nothing that can wake me up at 5 o'clock in the morning on a Thursday morning in May like getting ready for a day of football," Brady said. I want to play a long time. There's nothing I like doing that's close to football. What'll I do when I'm done playing? I don't know, but I know it won't be nearly as fun. I can tell you neither me nor Peyton [Manning] will probably be very far from the game of football when we're done."
The questions in training camp will not be about Brady, but more the competition of Garoppolo and current backup Ryan Mallett. The Patriots have denied their will be any trading of Mallett, the team traditionally only carries two quarterbacks meaning someone is sent packing. Mallett's stock is high despite his non-existing regular season stats and while Bill Belichick stated there are no plans to get rid of the backup, if Garoppolo shows serious promise in OTAs and training camp, that position might soften a bit. Expect the Houston Texans or Dallas Cowboys to be there waiting.
