NFL fans have long blamed Mo Lewis for starting Tom Brady’s legendary career – but the normally tight-lipped ex-Jets star has hit out at Drew Bledsoe in a stunning new statement.
Lewis, a three-time Pro Bowl linebacker, badly injured then-Patriots starter Bledsoe in 2001 with a vicious (but legal) hit along the sideline.
The quarterback had tried to scamper for a first down late in a game against the Jets but ended up being knocked back by Lewis, suffering internal bleeding in his chest cavity and ceding the starting job to Brady for good.
However, in a new book from reporter Gary Myers, Lewis actually blames Bledsoe for venturing outside of the pocket in the first place.
‘[Bledsoe] just signed a $100 million deal to be what type of quarterback? A passing quarterback, correct?’ Lewis said in ‘Brady vs. Belichick,’ per ESPN.
‘Had he not got outside the pocket and ran with the ball, would we be talking about this? Who caused the event? The person who was with the ball.
Mo Lewis badly injured Drew Bledsoe with a hit along the sideline during a 2001 game
Bledsoe was left with internal bleeding and never played again for the Patriots
The injury allowed Tom Brady to replace Bledsoe and form a dynasty with the Patriots
‘Now he’s doing what he didn’t sign up for. He signed up to be a passing quarterback. What do I do? I stop the people with the ball. It’s just another play for me. But it’s a different play for him.’
The play would ultimately be the last time Bledsoe would ever suit up for the Patriots, as he went on to play four seasons for the Bills and one for the Cowboys while Brady formed a dynasty with the Patriots.
Lewis, though, said the attention he’d received for the hit in the years after was ‘really irrelevant to me.’
‘It was just another play to me,’ he said. ‘To you all, it’s a big game-changing, history-changing play. I’ve never gone back to watch the play. If people want to talk about it, I don’t hide from it. But it has no importance to me.’
Lewis added that he wasn’t aware of how severely injured Bledsoe was from the hit in the moment, and added that he is ‘not a doctor.’
Lewis said the hit on Bledsoe was ‘just another play to me’ despite its massive ramifications
Bledsoe was forced to watch from the sideline as Brady took over for the Patriots
‘I’m a linebacker. I make tackles,’ he said. ‘I do not gauge how hard or how soft I hit a person. What you’re trying to do is make me see the future after the hit. I’m telling you, I’m not looking down the line. I’m just trying to stop him from getting a first down. Period.’
After being thrust into action due to Bledsoe’s injury, Brady went on to start 14 regular season games in 2001 and lead New England to a Super Bowl title in his first year under center.
From there, he of course put together a legendary career, winning a total of seven Super Bowls and three MVP awards.
Bledsoe, meanwhile, earned a Pro Bowl nod the following season in 2002 with the Bills – but never appeared in the postseason again.
And Lewis wrapped up an impressive 13-year career in 2003, though he is most known at this point for his history-changing hit.
