It’s been a long time – a long time – since Tom Brady came off the bench for the New England Patriots.
And it is just the preseason, but that’s what happened Friday night, with the Patriots in Charlotte to play the Carolina Panthers in their third preseason game.
It was the first time since Sept. 23, 2001 that Brady was in uniform for New England but was not the starter. If that date doesn’t quite ring a bell, that’s the day Drew Bledsoe was crushed by the Jets’ Mo Lewis.