Tom Brady is about to begin his 20th NFL season, and he’s seen plenty of teammates come and go over the last two decades. Having been through it, however, doesn’t make it any easier to deal with.

The 42-year-old seems hurt by the Patriots cutting Brian Hoyer, who originally joined the team as an undrafted free agent in 2009 and spent three seasons in New England before reuniting with Brady and Co. in 2017. Hoyer was axed in favor of rookie quarterback Jarrett Stidham, and Hoyer ended up signing with the Colts to play behind another former Brady backup, Jacoby Brissett, following Andrew Luck’s retirement.

“He has been a great friend ever since he came to our team in 2009,” Brady told WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” on Tuesday. “I always kept in touch with him. When he came back two seasons ago we picked up right where he left off. He added so much to our meeting room. I had so much trust and confidence in the things that he saw. He also had been exposed to a lot of different offensive systems so he brought some different knowledge — how people ran different offenses and so forth. He always provided great insight and great leadership.

“It’s very difficult to see your friends get released and that was really no different. It’s part of what happens in the NFL. I will never get used to it. I know that any team that Brian is on is a better team for having him. Indy has got a great quarterback in having Brian there.”

Brady said Hoyer, 33, helped him by being optimistic and bringing Brady “back to center” if he got frustrated.

Hoyer was expendable after the Patriots took Stidham in the fourth round of this year’s NFL Draft. Stidham, 23, played one year at Baylor before finishing his collegiate career with two seasons at Auburn.