When Kyle Van Noy saw ‘writing on the wall' with Tom Brady, Patriots

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Kyle Van Noy couldn't have told you Tom Brady was going to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Even the Bucs couldn't have told you that until recently.

But Van Noy still wasn't stunned that Tom Brady decided to leave the New England Patriots after 20 seasons.

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"I was just like everybody else: I was shocked a little bit, but I felt like I could see the writing on the wall with just how things went and just how things played out,” the Miami Dolphins linebacker told 98.5 The Sports Hub's "Zolak & Bertrand" on Thursday.

"I wish he was a lifer in New England because I think that would have been a really cool story. But I’m happy for him. He got what he wanted, a $50 million contract guaranteed. That is amazing. It doesn’t matter how much money you’ve earned -- that’s still a bunch of money."

The fact that the Patriots didn't give Brady that money before he hit unrestricted free agency last Wednesday was all the evidence Van Noy needed that his (then-) quarterback likely wasn't coming back.

"I would say the writing on the wall was (not) getting a deal before free agency,” Van Noy said. "That to me was ‘OK, it doesn’t look like he’s going to stay.’

"You would think with him being there that long, it would have gotten done. But who knows? I don’t know how he’s done stuff in the past, but for me, that was, ‘Oh, man. This is gonna get real.' "

Brady didn't waste any time, announcing he was leaving the Patriots one day before becoming a free agent and officially signing with the Bucs last Friday.

Van Noy inked his own lucrative deal Saturday -- a four-year, $51 million contract with Miami to reunite him with ex-Patriots defensive coordinator Brian Flores -- so he can relate to Brady's desire for money and respect.

Both players will seek that outside New England this season, while the Patriots face one of their most uncertain campaigns of this century.

Check out Van Noy's full interview on "Zolak & Bertrand" below.

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