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Quarterback Drew Bledsoe played collegiate football at Washington state University from 1990 to 1992. After his junior year, he was named the Pac-10 Conference's Offensive Player of the Year. He decided not to return for his senior year and became the first overall selection of the 1993 National Football League draft when he was picked by the New England Patriots.

Bledsoe started as a rookie under the watchful eye of first-year Patriots head coach Bill Parcells, who was well-known for giving his quarterbacks a hard time. But Bledsoe blossomed under Parcells' system. In 1994, New England made the playoffs for the first time in eight years. Two years later, the American Football Conference team earned a berth in Super Bowl XXXI against the Green Bay Packers of the National Football Conference. The Packers won, 35-21. After the game, Parcells moved on to the New York Jets.

Despite Parcells' departure, Bledsoe continued to thrive as an NFL quarterback, and was selected to his third Pro Bowl in 1997 (he would win a fourth Pro Bowl bid in 2002). In March, 2001, he signed a new $103 million contract with the Patriots for 10 years. But his fortunes began to change when he sustained a serious injury in Game 2 of the 2001 season against the New York Jets. Bledsoe was supplanted by unheralded backup quarterback Tom Brady, who promptly guided New England to the playoffs. As a result, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick stuck with Brady as the No. 1 quarterback even after Bledsoe had recovered sufficently.

Bledsoe's last hurrah as a New England quarterback occurred during the AFC Championship Game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on January 27, 2002 at Pittsburgh's Heinz Field. When Brady was injured during the second quarter, Bledsoe took over and guided the Patriots to a 24-17 victory and a berth in Super Bowl XXXVI against the St. Louis Rams in New Orleans. But Belichick doused all talk of a quarterback controversy by selecting Brady as the Super Bowl starter. The Patriots went on to win the world championship, defeating the Rams in a 20-17 thriller.

Before the 2002 season, Bledsoe was traded to the Buffalo Bills, where he played well enough to win a fourth Pro Bowl invitation . But he was released after his third year with the Bills, who decided to go with J.P. Losman, a younger quarterback.

In 2005, Bledsoe was reunited with Parcells, his first NFL coach, in Dallas. Bledsoe started for the Cowboys for the entire 2005 season. But he began to struggle during the 2006 season. On October 23, 2006, Bledsoe was replaced by Dallas backup quarterback Tony Romo during the second half of a Monday night game against the New York Giants. Romo became the Cowboys' fulltime starter, effectively ending Bledsoe's career as an active player. Bledsoe announced his retirement after the 2006 season.

Bledsoe currently ranks eighth in career passing completions (3,839), sixth in passing attempts (6,717), 10th in passing yardage (44,611) and 15th in passing touchdowns (251).

He was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2011.

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