From Number One Draft Pick To Benched: Drew Bledsoe On Overcoming Adversity, Roasting Tom Brady And More

When Drew Bledsoe left Washington State University, he joined one of the highest elections in sports: number one overall NFL draft pick.

A few years later, Bledsoe found himself in a position he never thought he'd be in as a backup to Tom Brady.

Bledsoe shared his journey and rollercoaster experience in the NFL with Benzinga founder Jason Raznick in a recent episode of The Raz Report podcast. Bledsoe, who now owns and operates three wineries in his home state of Washington, spoke candidly about the challenges he overcame as a football player and how that has shaped the rest of his life and now business career.

Quoted: "It's life, right?" Bledsoe said. "In life shit's going to come your way, positive or negative, you can't control what's coming at you, you can control what you do with it. That's the deal with me, I tried to handle it the right way at each juncture to the best that I could and because of that I ended up with a great relationship with all of the cities I played in and great relationships with all these teammates."

Bledsoe was the starting quarterback for the New England Patriots for eight seasons before an injury sidelined him, leaving the door open for Brady to take over. Before the 2001 season, Bledsoe signed a then-record $103 million contract for 10 years with the Patriots.

Set Backs: But, just two games into the season, Bledsoe was injured on a hit by New York Jets linebacker Mo Lewis that sheared a blood vessel in Bledsoe's chest, causing a hemothorax that led to rapid blood internal blood loss. If the trainers hadn't caught the injury soon after the conclusion of the game, Bledsoe's life could have been in danger.

Brady stepped in for Bledsoe and ended up taking the Patriots to the playoffs where the team would eventually win the Super Bowl. Bledsoe, who stepped in for an injured Brady during the AFC Championship game, spoke about the difficulties of being sidelined for the Super Bowl.

"To have a chance to come in and play in that game [AFC Championship] was great," Bledsoe said. "The thing that really sucked about it though, was I came in and played, we won, then we're going to the Super Bowl then Tommy's back in for the Super Bowl. I was like man this is bullshit, it's like you're giving a starving man a snack. You get to go play a little bit, then you get to the ultimate game and no dice."

Second Chances: After that season, the Patriots traded Bledsoe to their division rival the Buffalo Bills, giving Bledsoe a chance to rebuild his career following the injury-shortened season. Bledsoe threw for more than 4,000 yards in the 2002 season and earned a trip to the Pro Bowl, the NFL's All-Star Game.

Bledsoe went on to play for the Dallas Cowboys before retiring in 2006. Since then, Bledsoe moved back to Walla Walla, Washington, his hometown and began a new career that comes with a significantly reduced likelihood of serious injury: winemaking.

Bledsoe teamed up with Josh McDaniels (not the NFL coach), who is also from Walla Walla, and has founded three wineries in the region: Bledsoe McDaniels Winery, Doubleback and the Bledsoe Family Winery. Bledsoe realized while playing football that his small hometown of Walla Walla was producing some of his favorite wines, which led to his passion for winemaking.

Watch the full interview with Bledsoe here.