SANTA CLARA, CA - DECEMBER 20: Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana looks on from the sidelines during the NFL game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Cincinnati Bengals at Levi's Stadium on December 20, 2015 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)With Tom Brady signing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he joins a long list of legendary quarterbacks who played their final years for another team. One of those legendary signal callers is Joe Montana, who finally gave his thoughts on Brady leaving the Patriots.
In an interview with USA Today, Montana declared that the Patriots made a mistake by letting Brady go. The Hall of Famer said he couldn’t understand how or why the team let him go in the first place.
“I don’t know what’s going on inside there, but somebody made a mistake,” Montana said. “I had a different story, where they had made a decision. He, obviously, they never would have gotten rid of. I still don’t understand how New England let him get away. I don’t understand that.”
Montana speculated that Brady may have left in an effort to get “more control” over the offense. He also suggested that finding a team with more weapons would be high on Brady’s wishlist too.
Ultimately though, Montana thinks that Brady is going to enjoy his years with the Buccaneers.
“I think it’s going to be fun for him,” Montana said. “Probably for the first time in a long time he’ll be having fun, if I understand what he’s been saying, or what I’ve been reading.”
Joe Montana spoke with @JarretBell about Tom Brady's departure from New England. In short, Montana believes New England made a mistake. https://t.co/lMxBTEduSC pic.twitter.com/VK8ejcaYfs
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) March 25, 2020
Montana was famously traded to the Kansas City Chiefs in 1993 after winning four Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers. He went on to lead the Chiefs to back-to-back playoff appearances before retiring after the 1994 season.
But Brady’s departure from New England was very different from Montana leaving San Francisco.
On top of Montana not having much of a say where he went, the 49ers also had confidence in their younger quarterback, future Hall of Famer Steve Young.
Most people do not believe that the current crop of Patriots quarterbacks is adequate to replace Brady. That makes their decision to let Brady walk away all the more baffling.
