10 Years Ago Today

Every player in the NFL knows that their career could end on any play. They try and not think about it, but injuries are a stark reality of the game. Ten years ago today, Pats QB Drew Bledsoe was in his 9th season with the team. Second year player, Tom Brady had passed John Frieze and Michael Bishop on the depth chart to become Bledsoe's backup.

They were playing a home game against the New York Jets which they would lose 10-3. Late in the game, Jets DL Shaun Ellis was chasing Bledsoe out of bounds when LB Moe Lewis landed a devastating hit on number 11. It sent Bledsoe to the hospital with a collapsed lung and ruptured spleen. It was the beginning of the Brady era and the end for Bledsoe who would never play again for the Past except in an emergency role in the AFC Championship game.

At the end of the season, Bledsoe became expendable and was traded to the Buffalo Bills for a first round draft pick. We all thought that Bledsoe would be with the team his entire career, but one play changed the lives of two players forever.

We will never know what might have happened if current Pats DL Shaun Ellis had not been chasing Bledsoe out of bounds. Would there be three Super Bowl championships?