Tom Brady is 36 years old, but he's not going anywhere. Brady, a three-time Super Bowl champion and surefire first-ballot Hall of Famer, does not plan on hanging up his cleats anytime soon, according to Peter King of Monday Morning Quarterback.
Tom Brady does not fear age, younger quarterbacks
Brady is advancing in age, but don’t think for a second he’s not at the top of his game.
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Brady, who will turn 37 in August, told King something that would likely surprise many fans and pundits waiting for his level of play to decline.
“It’s hard to explain this to people, but the commitment I make, in terms of keeping my body in shape and my nutrition right, should make me healthy. I feel better today than when I was 25, and I know that’s hard for people to believe, but I do. I work at it. Basically, I work all off-season to prepare my body to not get hurt. I can’t help the team if I’m on the sidelines. I’ve got to be durable.”
Brady has always been durable, save the 2008 season when he missed all but the first half of the season opener with a torn ACL after being hit low by then-Kansas City Chiefs strong safety Bernard Pollard. Otherwise, Brady has never missed a start after being named the New England Patriots starting quarterback midway through the 2001 season.
NFL Draft
Coming into a season where the Patriots are one of two heavy AFC favorites to advance to the Super Bowl (should they do it, it would be Brady’s sixth appearance in 14 years), Bill Belichick opted to spend a valuable second-round pick on Eastern Illinois quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. The selection could be seen as a potentially threatening move to Brady’s long-term viability.
Still, the golden boy with the golden arm and the beautiful supermodel wife stated he was not surprised Belichick went in that direction, per Peter King.
“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.”
Brady himself was once an afterthought of a draft pick, destined to spend his days in Foxboro as a worst-case scenario behind Drew Bledsoe. Then Mo Lewis of the New York Jets lowered his shoulder on the scrambling Bledsoe, ushering in the worst-case scenario that proved best-case.
Since Brady took the reins in 2001, the Patriots have employed Damon Huard, Rohan Davey, Jim Miller, Doug Flutie, Matt Cassel, Vinny Testaverde, Matt Gutierrez, Kevin O'Connell, Brian Hoyer and Ryan Mallett. Let's take a look at their careers after New England.
Damon Huard (signed as free agent)
Huard moved on to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2004 and did not play a game until 2006. That season, Huard was forced into action after Trent Green suffered a severe concussion. Behind Huard, Kansas City went 5-3, helping the Chiefs to a playoff berth. Huard remained as a spot starter and backup with Kansas City until 2009.
Rohan Davey (drafted in fourth round)
After being released by the Patriots in 2005, Davey signed with the Arizona Cardinals to back up Kurt Warner. A year later, Davey was released and out of the NFL.
Jim Miller (signed as free agent)
Miller left the Patriots after the 2004 season and was inked by the New York Giants before the 2005 campaign, but never threw a pass.
Doug Flutie (signed as free agent)
Flutie spent the last year of his career backing up Brady in 2005 after spending more than two decades in the Canadian Football League and the NFL with the Chicago Bears, Patriots, Buffalo Bills and San Diego Chargers. In his second stint with New England, he retired in 2006 after one year with the team.
Matt Cassel (seventh-round draft pick)
Cassel sat behind Brady for three seasons until being pressed into action for the 2008 campaign following Brady’s knee injury. Cassel led the team to an 11-5 record but missed the playoffs before being dealt to the Chiefs for a second-round pick.
Quarterback Battles
Cassel won an AFC West title in 2010 and went to the Pro Bowl that season, tossing 27 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. Things went downhill from there, with Cassel being released only two seasons later following 7-9 and 2-14 years.
The Minnesota Vikings signed Cassel before the 2013 season, and he became the starter for six games. Going into this year, Cassel is competing with rookie Teddy Bridgewater and Christian Ponder for the main job.
Vinny Testaverde (signed as free agent)
Testaverde was the ultimate journeyman, making stops with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns (and the Baltimore Ravens), New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys, the Jets again, and finally the Patriots before finishing his career with the Carolina Panthers.
Testaverde only spent the 2006 season with New England, throwing a touchdown pass in garbage time against the Green Bay Packers. With that pass, Testaverde extended his record of 20 straight seasons with a touchdown pass.
Testaverde finished his NFL career eighth in passing yardage, ninth in completions and 10th in touchdown passes.
Matt Gutierrez (UDFA)
Gutierrez spent his first two seasons with the Patriots before moving on to the Chiefs, a common theme. After being on the Kansas City roster for the 2009 season, Gutierrez moved on to the Chicago Bears in 2010. The Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League took Gutierrez on before the Bears, Washington Redskins and St. Louis Rams all signed him in 2011.
Gutierrez then signed with the Arizona Rattlers of the AFL before moving on to the Kansas City Command in 2012. He finished his NFL career with 18 passing yards.
Kevin O’Connell (drafted in third round)
Despite being a third-round selection, O'Connell was a washout quickly in New England. The former San Diego State star played only one season with the Patriots before bouncing around with the Detroit Lions, Jets, Miami Dolphins and Chargers between 2009-12.
O’Connell finished with only 23 passing yards and zero interceptions.
Brian Hoyer (UDFA)
Hoyer, signed in 2009 out of college, spent the first three seasons of his career nailed to the bench behind Brady. In 2012, Hoyer split the season between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals before catching on with the Cleveland Browns in 2013.
Last season, Hoyer went 2-0 in his first two starts with five touchdowns, and had the Browns looking promising before going down with a torn ACL against the Buffalo Bills in his third start. Going into 2014, Hoyer is competing for the starting job with first-round pick Johnny Manziel.
Ryan Mallett (drafted in third round)
Mallett was taken out of Arkansas in 2011 and has not made a start. The former Razorback has only thrown for 17 yards and an interception in his career.
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