Tom Brady has worked with many great pass catchers during his NFL career with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The most notable names include Randy Moss, Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman, Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, among others.
One of the players Brady didn’t get a chance to play with was senior Steve Smith.
“Some guys are athletes’ athletes. Those are the guys that I love,” Brady said in a recent interview with Patrick Bate-David. “I went to a preseason game the other day and I saw Steve Smith. He was a receiver for Baltimore and Carolina. I (expletive) like Steve Smith because he wants to Kills defensive backs. He’s a little guy but plays with the team.” Biggest heart. I would love to play with Steve Smith.
Smith played 13 seasons with the Panthers from 2011 to 2013. He helped the Panthers reach Super Bowl XXXVIII during the 2003 season, where they lost in a thriller to Brady and the Patriots, 32-29. Smith had four catches for 80 yards and a touchdown in that game.
Smith became a free agent after being cut by the Panthers in 2014. He admitted the Patriots were interested in him at the time, and head coach Bill Belichick even called him to talk about the opportunity.
But Smith ultimately chose to sign a three-year, $11.5 million contract with the Baltimore Ravens this offseason.
“I talked to Coach Belichick in person when I was at the airport on my way to Baltimore,” Smith said in March 2014, according to the Baltimore Sun.
“We had a conversation that made it clear that they were very interested in me. I would have loved to go there, but sitting here I really felt like this was where I thought was the best place for me, and they convinced me that I would be a good fit here.”
The Patriots and Ravens met in the AFC Divisional Round of the 2014 playoffs, with New England winning 35-31 in one of the best postseason matchups of the Brady/Belichick era.
It was also the final postseason game for Smith, whose career ended in 2016 with zero Super Bowl rings.
It’s interesting to look back and think about how effective the Brady-Smith duo could have been in Foxborough. Both players are extremely talented and always play with confidence. In many ways, it’s a perfect match.