Tom Brady's rise to prominence is certainly one of the most intriguing stories in NFL history.
He was originally selected by the New England Patriots as a sixth-round draft pick in 2000, but at the time, Drew Bledsoe had a firm hold on the Patriots' starting quarterback job.
During Brady's second season, however, Brady took a hard hit when New York Jets linebacker Mo Lewis in Week 2, resulting in internal bleeding for Bledsoe and forcing Brady to take the reins under center.
Here we are, 18 years later, and Brady has five Super Bowl titles under his belt, including a championship during that 2001-02 campaign.
Former Patriots cornerback Ty Law remembers when Brady took over for Bledsoe on that fateful day in September 2001, saying that Brady was adamant in making sure Bledsoe would not get his starting job back:
“One night, you’ll be out at a team dinner at Abe & Louie’s in Boston,” wrote Law in The Players' Tribune. “You’ll be talking about what’s gonna happen when Drew comes back. And Tom will speak up and say, “He’s not getting his (expletive) job back!”
Obviously, Brady was right, as the Patriots ended up trading Bledsoe to the Buffalo Bills for a first-round draft pick nearly three months after Brady won his first Super Bowl.
Now, Brady has a chance to win his sixth title.
The 41-year-old is coming off of a stellar performance in a Divisional Round win over the Los Angeles Chargers and is getting set to take on the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game this Sunday.
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