Taking a hit from Jets linebacker Mo Lewis in 2001 not only derailed Drew Bledsoe\u2019s time as the Patriots starting quarterback, but it nearly ended \u2026<\/b>
\nTaking a hit from Jets linebacker Mo Lewis in 2001 not only derailed Drew Bledsoe\u2019s time as the Patriots starting quarterback, but it nearly ended his life, too. During an appearance Thursday on \u201cThe Dan Patrick Show,\u201d Bledsoe discussed what he remembered about the fateful hit from two decades ago, as well as the aftermath. \u201cI remember laying there on the sidelines and getting up, and going back in the game,\u201d Bledsoe said. \u201cI certainly wasn\u2019t all there. I had a pretty serious concussion in addition to the internal stuff.\u201d Bledsoe recalled Thursday how his former Patriots teammates, fullback Marc Edwards and quarterback Damon Huard, were the ones who \u201cratted [him] out\u201d to personnel that he \u201cwasn\u2019t all there.\u201d The former NFL star added that he couldn\u2019t remember the plays in the two-minute drill, a tell-tale sign for those around him that something was amiss. \u201cAfter the game, I tried to go home. Thankfully, the doctors didn\u2019t let me do that,\u201d Bledsoe said. \u201cIf they let me go home, I would\u2019ve died. I was bleeding out about a liter an hour internally. By the time they got me to the hospital, I was out, and they took a lot of blood out of my body. Thankfully they were able to recycle my blood and put it back in, so they didn\u2019t have to open my chest up, but it was pretty touch-and-go for a while.\u201d Bledsoe has been in the news this week because he appeared in the first episode of \u201cMan in the Arena,\u201d a 10-episode ESPN+ series on Tom Brady\u2019s career, produced by Religion of Sports. Famously, Bledsoe never regained the starting job in New England, as Brady, an unheralded sixth-round pick in his second NFL season, led the team to a championship. In Tuesday\u2019s episode, Bledsoe admitted that he was \u201cdisheartened \u201d about the Patriots winning the Super Bowl with his understudy at quarterback. \u201cI remember being excited for our guys, but at the same time a little internally disheartened,\u201d Bledsoe said. \u201c\u2018Like man, battled through a lot of stuff to try to get to this point, and now I\u2019ve arrived here and the other guy got to play.\u2019\u201d Brady, however, marveled at how supportive a teammate Bledsoe was throughout the championship season. \u201cWhat I respect so much about him is he never let any of those emotions negatively impact me in any way,\u201d Brady said.<\/p>\n