Entering the 2016 season, Tom Brady had won just one Super Bowl in the last decade-plus, and then came the biggest hit of his career.
Deflategate had finally settled, and the then-New England Patriots quarterback was hit with a four-game suspension for his involvement in the scandal.
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Outside of his torn ACL in 2008, it was the only time Brady had ever been off the football field.
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New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) throws a pass against the Atlanta Falcons in overtime during Super Bowl LI at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas on Feb 5, 2017. (Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports)
Despite being in unfamiliar territory, Brady, though, took advantage of what his former teammates Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski joked was his “vacation.”
“It was a great September,” Brady admitted on “The Gronk & Jules Show.”
Brady went back home to Pebble Beach to see his parents, took in a Michigan game, his alma mater, with his son, and went on an Italy trip with his then-wife.
“I really took advantage of September. I was like, s—, I haven’t had a September off since before I started playing in elementary school.”
Tom Brady while he played for the New England Patriots. (Bob Breidenbach/Providence Journal/USA TODAY NETWORK)
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But once the calendar flipped to October, and Brady returned from his ban, Brady had one thing on his mind.
“I was there to whoop some a–,” he said.
When asked by Edelman if he had any extra motivation because of the punishment, he quickly said, “Hell yeah.”
“We all came back, and we all had something to prove,” he added. “We always have something to prove. Every time you take the field as a competitor, you got something to prove. Mostly, you gotta prove it to yourself. What am I capable of doing, what are my teammates counting on me to do, and how do I go achieve it? And then, how can I be the best I can be for them?”
Brady went 11-1 as the starter in that regular season, and that campaign was capped off with the unforgettable 28-3 comeback in the Super Bowl against the Atlanta Falcons.
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) celebrates with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after winning Super Bowl LI against the Atlanta Falcons at NRG Stadium on Feb 5, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Kevin Jairaj/Imagn Images)
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Brady would win two more Super Bowls after that – one with the Pats and his seventh with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.