Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady has now thrown for more yards than any other NFL player in history, but he could have been doing so for a different franchise.
Brady has now thrown for a total of 100,000 yards in his career after surpassing the incredible figure as the Buccaneers faced the reigning Super Bowl champions Los Angeles Rams. Nobody would have foreseen such an incredible record when Brady was drafted back in 2000, but it only adds to his ever growing legacy.
The New England Patriots legend left the organisation in 2020, and joined the Buccaneers after lots of interest from around the league. However, Brady expressed interest in joining the Indianapolis Colts, although they voted in favour of picking up Phillip Rivers instead.
According to NBC Sports NFL analyst Peter King, Brady was keen on joining the Colts before eventually joining the Buccaneers in 2020. Brady went on to win a Super Bowl for the franchise as he made the right move, but it was the Colts that passed on the then six-time championship winner.
The Colts went for former Chargers quarterback Rivers, who is four years younger than Brady. Rivers signed a one-year deal with the Colts as Brady went to the Buccaneers, but the former Chargers star retired at the end of his deal.
"Though the Brady camp had interest in Indianapolis, the Colts seemed to be set on Philip Rivers on a shorter deal," King wrote. "All other teams in his universe (the Chargers most notably) were further from Brady’s New York home."
The Colts may regret doing so now, but the Buccaneers benefitted, and now Brady has reached an incredible milestone. But the veteran quarterback paid tribute to all those around him over the years, who have all contributed.
"I think for me it’s a credit to all the guys that I’ve played with, and who have blocked for me, who have caught passes," Brady said. "I think all those things are a great celebration to all those guys.
"I think I can’t do s*** in this league without guys doing what they are amazing at, too. I’m very fortunate to play with great players, people who catch the football, great coaches, and being down here has been an amazing experience for me."
Brady also backed up his decision to join the Buccaneers, and hailed their options at wide reciever. "Playing with Mike [Evans] and Chris [Godwin], and that’s why I came here, because of guys like that," Brady added.
"I played with Gronk all those years. Obviously, I could name every player that I’ve played with and how meaningful they are to my life and what they’ve contributed in terms of the memories I have from this sport.
"So I feel like these are all — they’re great achievements, but for as much as people want to say, ‘Oh, this is what Tom Brady did,’ in my mind this is what myself and all these other people who have contributed to my life have done as well."
