New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady reportedly became "very upset" over the news of offensive lineman Logan Mankins being traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In the home stretch of his career and now 10 seasons removed from his last Super Bowl win, Brady could be losing trust in coach Bill Belichick.
Brady was "very upset" and "not happy" with New England dealing Mankins, according to Bleacher Report.
After Mankins purportedly refused to take a pay cut, the Patriots traded him to Tampa Bay on Tuesday for a 2015 fourth-round pick and second-year tight end Tim Wright, who's unlikely to see any significant playing time.
The problem for Brady, 37, was the move doesn't make New England a better team for the upcoming season. He loses a stalwart of his offensive line, and the locker room loses a veteran leader. Brady has lost players before, but losing Mankins is different.
Aside from being at a greater risk to suffer a season- or career-ending injury, and assuming left guard replacement Josh Kline doesn't have a breakout season, Brady's protection upfront is unlikely to give him the time in the pocket he needs to make plays: tackles Sebastian Vollmer and Nate Soldier are the only sure starters on the Patriots' offensive line.
Brady has been a professional his entire career, and he never griped publicly about the unimpressive receiving group Belichick handed him to work with last season - a group Brady still managed to take to within one game of the Super Bowl.
The other problem is the Mankins trade wasn't the first time Belichick has done something like that, and it's likely wearing thin on Brady. Despite Brady restructuring his contract to give the Patriots more salary cap flexibility, Belichick famously refused to re-sign Pro Bowl receiver Wes Welker to a modest-sized contract in 2013, further proving that being a top contributor to the team doesn't secure somebody a roster spot.
Brady is in the twilight of his career but is still playing at a Pro Bowl level. Given Belichick's history of parting with star players, Brady certainly must wonder to some degree whether he will be next.
