Former Patriots defender Jake Bequette puts Tom Brady’s longevity in perspective

When Jake Bequette joined the New England Patriots in 2012, Tom Brady was already well-established as the team’s starting quarterback: he had won three Super Bowl, was a two-time league MVP and well on his way to the Hall of Fame. He was also already 34 years old at the time and seemingly a lot closer to the end of his legendary career than the beginning.

It was therefore no surprise that Bequette asked Brady two years later, ahead of Super Bowl 49, whether or not he would retire. The former third-round draft pick shared the story on social media earlier this week, and along the way put the longevity of the now-Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback in perspective:

While Brady is still going strong, Bequette’s career in the NFL lasted only three seasons. He failed to make much of an impact in New England despite his draft status — he was picked 90th overall — and appeared in only eight games for the club before it parted ways with him. At that point, Bequette had already been converted from defensive end to tight end but that move also did not pay off.

As the 31-year-old noted in the post above, he later went to join the military. After his playing career he enrolled in law school at Georgetown University, before being healthy enough to enlist in the U.S. Army in August 2017. Bequette spent some time in Iraq with the 101st Airborne Division and had his final day of active duty service in late January.