What Aaron Hernandez's Former Teammates Said About Him

Had things gone differently, Tom Brady and Aaron Hernandez might have been one of the great duos in the NFL. That, of course, didn't pan out, and just weeks after Hernandez's arrest, Brady was interviewed in Sports Illustrated. He was asked how losing Hernandez was going to change the game, and Brady was pretty straightforward: "My job is to play quarterback ... regardless of who is out there on the field with me. I have moved on. I'm focusing on the great teammates I have who are committed to helping us win games — nothing else."

Brady was being asked about Hernandez again in the months after his death and diagnosis with CTE, and by the time WEEI asked about him, five years had passed since they played together. Brady said that Hernandez didn't often cross his thoughts. "It's just very tragic, for everyone involved," he said. "To have a teammate who we were all in the huddle with, played some great games with ... it's just a horrible thing. I don't know what to make of it. It's just very, very sad."

And what about feelings in the other direction? TMZ got their hands on a letter that Hernandez sent in 2016, and while he condemned some — like owner Robert Kraft — he had nothing but praise for Brady, who, he wrote, "I love to death and always will and only hope the best for."

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