New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo spent almost three years in the same quarterback room. For a time, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Jacoby Brissett was in that meeting room, too.
“We were a tight crew,” Garoppolo told reporters, via NESN.com. “That quarterback room was a lot of fun to be in. We all kept each other on our toes, bust each other up a little bit. It was all in good spirit. We’d keep each other honest and I love those guys.”
And though there was a healthy level of competition, there was never any unhealthy animosity, according Garoppolo. Brady and his backups got along just fine despite reports of dysfunction.
“He was awesome,” Garoppolo said. “Everything he did, I never tried to be too much of a pest and ask too many questions. But just watching him from afar, how he went about his business, how he handled off the field things on the field, whatever it was, he always did it the right way. He gave me a good example when I was young.”
This isn’t to say all things were hunky-dory all the time. The quarterbacks, who were all named starters for their teams in 2019, challenged each other. Because there was so much talent and work ethic, they pushed each other like brothers — and they fought like brothers.
“You cared about Tom’s standard,” Brissett told NBC Sports Boston’s Tom Curran. “I’ll never forget some of the things he would say. If he saw me relaxing, he’d say, ‘You play quarterback, you can’t do that.’ For the most part, he kept us on our toes. He played those mind games with us.
“One day he’d love us up and another day he’ll be pissed and take it out on us. His expectations were way more something you were trying to uphold than what anybody else put on you. To be a part of it and to have Tom as a resource and creating so many friendships outside of Tom was invaluable.”
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