What happened to Drew Bledsoe? QB Drew Bledsoe retires after 14 seasons though he is regarded as the NFL’s greatest player, Tom Brady had one of the hardest starts in history. The New England Patriots hadn’t been looking for a new leader when the
7x SB winner stepped up because they had another legend before him in Drew Bledsoe.
However, young Brady took the lead and never looked back after the Patriots’ star player unexpectedly went down with a fatal injury.
In the words of safety lawyer Milloy, “Sometimes it takes a tragedy to bring a team together.” And that is precisely what transpired in the case of the Bledsoe injury. The fall of one dominion led to the rise of another dynasty.
Drew McQueen Bledsoe is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, primarily with the New England Patriots.
What happened to Drew Bledsoe?
Tom Brady Replaces Bledsoe
Bledsoe signed a 10-year, $103 million contract with the Patriots in March 2001, a few weeks after his 29th birthday. As he entered his ninth NFL season, it seemed as though he would stay with the team for the rest of his career.
Regretfully, Jets linebacker Mo Lewis knocked Bledsoe out of bounds in Week 2 as he was stumbling. Bledsoe suffered internal bleeding from his chest cavity and was taken to the hospital.
Tom Brady replaced him later in the game. Brady took the field for the next seven games while Bledsoe healed from his wounds.
Following a five-game winning streak, Belichick decided to continue starting Brady and reserve Bledsoe’s spot on the field until he recovered. New England won the AFC East and reached the AFC Championship Game against the Steelers.
The Patriots were led to the Super Bowl by Drew Bledsoe.
The first game of the 1994 season gave the NFL a look at Bledsoe’s potential. Bledsoe and Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino exchanged touchdown passes throughout the second half, ending a 39-35 victory for the Dolphins. For 421 yards and four touchdowns, Bledsoe completed 32 of the 51 passes attempted.
It was the year that Bledsoe, in his first Pro Bowl, led the NFL in passing yards, completion percentage, and attempt percentage. In addition to throwing 25 touchdowns and averaging 284.7 passing yards per game, he also had a league-high 28 interceptions. New England lost to Bill Belichick and the Cleveland Browns in the AFC Wild Card round after finishing 10-6.
In the playoffs, New England overcame the Pittsburgh Steelers and Jacksonville Jaguars to advance to Super Bowl XXXI, where they faced the Green Bay Packers. In the Packers’ defeat, Bledsoe completed 25 of 28 passes for 253 yards, two touchdowns, and four interceptions.
Over his next four seasons, from 1997 to 2000, Bledsoe averaged 3,653.8 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 15.8 interceptions.
