What a difference two years makes.
Tom Brady left the New England Patriots in March 2020 to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and reports suggested he couldn't get out of Foxboro fast enough.
Fast forward to 2022, where the 45-year-old quarterback insists he watches his former team play at every opportunity.
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"I just watch that team every week," Brady said of the Patriots on his weekly "Let's Go!" podcast with co-host Jim Gray. "I'm impressed with how they prepare and the accountability that that organization has had. It always starts at the top."
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Brady's answer came after Gray played him a clip of Bill Belichick praising the QB for reaching 100,000 career passing yards in Tampa Bay's Week 9 win over the Los Angeles Rams.
"I can hear that as if I’m sitting next to him," Brady said. "Believe me, all those years with him in my ear, I can hear that as if he were just right next to me."
New England Patriots
Brady then shared more praise of his former head coach, who recently passed George Halas for second in all-time NFL head coaching wins.
"We had 20 years together of elite football experience that I wouldn’t have traded for anything in the world," Brady said. "I know he’s a great competitor. What an amazing coach he is, and how he prepares the team to win, and he’s just done it year in and year out.
"The fact that he’s 22 wins away from (passing Don Shula for first on the all-time coaching wins list) -- I have no doubt he’s gonna get it."
If you had any doubts that Belichick would continue coaching until he breaks Shula's record, you can probably put them to bed after Brady's "challenge" of sorts.
While Brady and Belichick throwing public bouquets at each other isn't too surprising -- the two have insisted they're on good terms now despite Brady's acrimonious exit in 2020 -- it is interesting to hear Brady say he watches the Patriots every week.
Are Brady and Belichick on good enough terms for the QB to consider a Patriots reunion in 2023? We highly doubt it. But Brady sounds intent on keeping tabs on his old club from afar.