FOXBORO, Mass. — Tom Brady was only the young guy in the New England Patriots’ quarterback room for seven seasons. Since 2007 — far beyond half of his career — he’s been the elder statesman.

Brady was mentored by Drew Bledsoe and John Friesz in his first year in the NFL. Then Damon Huard replaced Friesz in 2001, Jim Miller came in for the 2004 season, Doug Flutie backed up Brady in 2005 and Vinny Testaverde joined the fold in 2006. Since 2007, Brady’s been the veteran with younger backups like Matt Cassel, Brian Hoyer, Ryan Mallett, Jimmy Garoppolo and, now, rookie Jarrett Stidham.

“I was a young player once too,” Brady said Wednesday. “And I had a lot of older players that I worked with. So, I think I learned from those experiences, and I had some great mentors, people that really taught me how to play the position, and it was great at a young age to have John Friesz and Drew and then to have Damon Huard and then to have Vinny and to have Doug.

“And then all of a sudden, it flipped, and then it got Matt Cassel to Brian to Jimmy. So, I played with so many great guys over the years.”

This was the point in Brady’s answer where we expected the QB to say that he’s trying to be a similar mentor to Stidham. But, as Brian Urlacher once found out, sometimes Brady zigs when we expect him to zag.

“I think for a quarterback, it’s my belief that when you play a team sport, the best guy plays because that’s what’s best for the team,” Brady said. “And then the other guys support that position.

“And that’s because there’s — you know, it used to be that a lot of quarterbacks played. I studied up on NFL history this offseason. But they used to have a lot of two-quarterback systems. If you had talent in that position, you used it in different ways. Over the years, I dealt with that a little bit in college. And then now it’s progressed. It’s one guy plays, and the other guys support that position the best way they can in whatever role they’re asked to do. That’s just kind of the way it’s gone.”

While it might sound cutthroat for Brady to say that it’s Stidham job to help him rather than vice versa, that is the reality of the 2019 Patriots. Brady might not have meant it this way, but he did learn “from those experiences” with Friesz, Bledsoe and everyone else.

Bledsoe never saw Brady coming. And Brady took Bledsoe’s job and has never looked back on his way to the most prolific quarterback career in NFL history.

What’s best for the 2019 Patriots — and Brady — is for Stidham to do everything he can to help the starter. Stidham can learn from Brady by watching how the greatest quarterback to ever lace up a pair of Under Armour cleats prepares. But Brady isn’t a quarterback or throwing coach.

If Brady goes down for a stretch this season, he’ll need Stidham to step up. But Brady will be gone if the time ever comes that Stidham is the Patriots’ next starting quarterback.

Brady was asked if he’s territorial about his starting job before he went into the dynamics of a backup quarterback.

“I think that’s the nature of this position, and it’s a very competitive position,” Brady said. “I think it’s a great privilege. I’ve always felt when a team trusts you to be a quarterback and they put the ball in your hands, it’s a great show of trust they have in you, and I think that you need to earn it every day.

“So I don’t think that you can rest on things that have happened in the past or things that people may project on you. You just have to go out and try to — you know, you’re tasked with a big burden — to help the offense be in the right play. You touch the ball on every play so you have the opportunity to distribute it how you see fit. So with that trust comes a lot of responsibility, and I think that that’s a big responsibility that I take with me.”

Brady might be the old guy, but he’s also still the guy. And as long as he’s starting and keeps fending off the competition, Stidham will be his support for the foreseeable future.

Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images