Bill Belichick: Tom Brady's departure 'wasn't a question about not wanting him'

Buckle up, because you are about to get inundated with Belichick-Brady reunion content for the foreseeable future.

Next weekend's matchup between the Buccaneers and the Patriots was already a hot topic given it will be the first time Tom Brady will face off against his former team. But with the highly-anticipated game now just a week away, news outlets are going all-in on TB12's return to Foxborough -- and, of course, diving back into dissecting why he left New England in the first place.

"I'm not going to go back and rehash all that," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said in his weekly radio appearance on WEEI, via ESPN. "I think we've been through all the dynamics of that. There were a lot of things there."

Even with Brady winning a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay, questions as to why he went to another team in the first place continue to come up in conversation. There was speculation that the 44-year-old signal-caller wanted a change of scenery after two decades in New England. But it has also been said that the Patriots didn't make an effort to keep Brady in the mix, despite owner Robert Kraft saying otherwise.

Whatever the reason may be, Boston sports media and Patriots fans alike still haven't gotten over the fact that Brady doesn't play in Foxborough anymore. Which means Belichick is still fielding questions about a quarterback he no longer coaches.

"He looked at his options and made his decision," Belichick said of Brady on Monday. "We weren't as good an option as Tampa. You'd have to ask him about that, but it wasn't a question about not wanting him, that's for sure."

The Patriots had 19 consecutive winning seasons during the Belichick-Brady era, which also included 17 division titles, 13 AFC Championship game appearances, and an NFL-leading nine Super Bowl appearances.