FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady shared his reaction to Monday's news that linebacker Jamie Collins was traded to the Cleveland Browns, saying that he and his offensive teammates "know that when you lose a player of Jamie’s caliber that we’re going to have to do better."

“It’s always tough to hear news like that with a teammate that I’ve played with and been in so many battles with. Jamie is a great player for our team and I’m sure he’ll be a great player for the Cleveland Browns,” Brady said during his weekly appearance on Westwood One Radio.

“I’m always sad when we lose a player that I like and someone that I respect like Jamie. It’s a tough day, but it’s part of the NFL, this business. Coach Belichick makes these decisions and we as players still have to go out and do our job. That’s enough of a challenge as it is. We’re in a bye week now, we’re at 7-1 so we’re in a decent place, and we have our whole season ahead of us.”

Now in his 17th season with the Patriots, Brady has been on the team for similar moves, going back to 2003 when safety Lawyer Milloy was shockingly cut, and then trades such as receiver Deion Branch (2006), linebacker Mike Vrabel (2008), defensive lineman Richard Seymour (2009), guard Logan Mankins (2014) and defensive end Chandler Jones (2016).

It's never easy when they happen.

"When there’s players that are coming, it’s very exciting. And then when you lose players, it’s obviously very disappointing because you have relationships with those players that you’ve really worked hard to build," Brady said on Westwood One. "I loved playing with Jamie, I loved seeing him out on the field. He’s moving on to a different place, a different environment for him. The makeup of our team will be different and hopefully the guys that fill in for him now will do a great job for us.”

Meanwhile, safety Devin McCourty said flatly, "When you get a guy like Jamie who was here for four years, very productive player, to lose him is a bit shocking, I think, to everybody on the team."

McCourty's remarks came during a guest appearance on Comcast SportsNet New England.

“Jamie’s a huge piece of our defense, arguably our best defensive player,” McCourty said. "So it’s going to be a lot of changes that come from this move, and as players, that has to be our focus -- how do we fix things and get things going in a positive direction."