Tom Brady saw the end with the Patriots before anyone else

Former New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady let loose on Wednesday, saying he knew his time in Foxborough was ending before the 2019 season began.

Now former New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady made a rare appearance on a national radio station on Wednesday while opening up about his NFL career while embarking on a new journey starting in the 2020 campaign.

The legendary quarterback, who made the decision to leave the Patriots in free agency after 20 seasons to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for at least the next two years, joined Howard Stern on The Howard Stern Show on Wednesday morning. Brady took part in a two-hour conversation with Stern covering a various amount of topics.

During the interview, Brady opened up about basically everything, including talking about his legacy, his relationship with New England head coach Bill Belichick, his life both on and off the field and when he decided to take on a new challenge in his professional career.

Brady, who is generally a reserved individual when it comes to speaking with the media, peeled the curtain back while allowing fans the opportunity to hear his side of the story on different topics.

Among the many things that Brady said during the two-hour interview that stood out surrounded the end to his time in New England and when exactly he knew the end was near for the Patriots.

Many people previously thought that Brady’s decision to ultimately part ways with the only organization he has ever played for took place during the offseason following the 2019 campaign.

In the interview with Stern, however, Brady told everyone he actually saw the end coming in Foxborough long before then.

The future Hall-of-Fame quarterback, who will turn 43 years old in August, said on the radio station that he could feel this past season being his last with the Patriots prior to the start of the 2019 campaign (via the Boston Herald):

"“I don’t think there was a final, final decision until it happened, but I would say I probably knew before the start of last season that it was my last year, and I knew that it was just — our time was coming to an end,” Brady said to Stern. “I knew that at the end of the year I was gonna become a free agent for the first time in my career.“I had spoken about it with the ownership of the team, Mr. Kraft, and he was good with it. I spoke with coach Belichick, he was good with it. That’s what we decided to do.”"

The surprising part wasn’t hearing Brady say that he could see the end in New England inching closer but rather the fact that he knew it was his last year before the 2019 season even began. Brady ultimately saw the end before anybody else truly did, or rather wanted to believe.

Even in knowing it was his last year as a Patriot, Brady went on to appear in every regular-season game for the third straight season, compiling 4,057 passing yards, 24 touchdowns and completing 60.8 percent of his pass attempts while throwing for just eight interceptions.

He led New England to its 11th straight AFC East title while returning to the postseason once again. Although that playoff run ended in an early exit in the Wild Card Round. All of that while knowing he would end up playing somewhere else in 2020.

It will be surprising to see Brady take the field for a new team and sport a Buccaneers uniform this season. But in reality, Brady envisioned it happening long before anyone else did.