Drew Bledsoe shares thoughts on having legacy tied to Tom Brady

Drew Bledsoe does not have any lingering animosity towards Bill Belichick or Tom Brady, even though Belichick demoted him from starting quarterback in 2001 in favor of Brady — the move that spurred a run to that year's Super Bowl title (and five more after that) for the New England Patriots.

But Bledsoe did tell his former Dallas Cowboys teammate Keyshawn Johnson recently that there is one thing that still stings about that benching — how much it affected his own legacy, while Brady and Belichick are now widely regarded as the best quarterback and head coach in NFL history.

"When I retired, there were only, five or six guys in the history of the NFL that had thrown for more yards than me," Blesdose said on the latest episode of Johnson's podcast, "All Facts No Brakes." "[Dan] Marino, [Fran] Tarkenton, [John] Elway, [Warren] Moon, [Brett] Favre, [Vinny] Testaverde, then me. That was the entire list of the people that had thrown for more yards than I had thrown for in my 14 years — pretty nice career, right? But when people look back, you know, all they see is ‘the guy before Tom.'

"That part kind of sucks."

Bledsoe said that he could never have imagined upon Brady's arrival in New England that the skinny sixth-round draft pick would one day take Bledsoe's job, let alone become the best ever.

"I didn't see that whole thing coming, and I don't think anybody else did except maybe Tom himself," Bledsoe said. "So no, there was not a thought in my mind. I thought I was gonna play my entire career for one organization and that we gonna go on and win a few more championships, and it just didn't work out. Life throws you curveballs."

Bledsoe made it clear he has made his peace with that aspect of his legacy, however — as evidenced