When Tom Brady left the New England Patriots for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020, he had only one goal: to win more Super Bowls. He knew he couldn’t do it all on his own, which is why he brought some help with him.
The legendary quarterback convinced Rob Gronkowski to change his mind about retiring to start a new chapter in Tampa, but it seems that the tight end wasn’t the only player he called.
In an appearance on “The Rush with Maxx Crosby” podcast, Julian Edelman revealed Brady wanted him on board at the Bucs. But unlike Gronk, the former wideout turned down the invitation.
“He (Brady) would joke around about leaving with me for like four years. So this time, I was like, ‘Boy crying wolf,’” Edelman said, via Sports Illustrated. “He left. He hit me up when he left, and he goes, ‘Hey baby, you want me to get you down here?’ I said, ‘Nah, I’m good, bro. I’m a one-team man.’”
Things went differently for them that year, with Edelman playing only six games for the Patriots before picking up a season-ending knee injury that eventually forced him to retire. Brady and Gronk, on the other hand, won Super Bowl LV against Patrick Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs.
Tom Brady was done in New England
While Edelman felt comfortable enough to stay in Foxborough and finish his career as a Patriot, Brady felt it was time to move on by then. Despite all the good memories, the quarterback himself suggested his relationship with Bill Belichick reached a point of no return.
“Me and Coach Belichick, we did what we loved and competed for 20 years together,” Brady said on the series ‘The Dynasty: New England Patriots’ of Apple TV. “But I wasn’t going to sign another contract (in New England) even if I wanted to play until (I was) 50. Based on how things had gone, I wasn’t going to sign up for more of it.”