Tom Brady apparently didn't like Leonard Fournette visiting Patriots in free agency

BOSTON -- Almost immediately after Tom Brady decided to come out of his brief retirement, he went to work as an assistant general manager to recruit as many players as he could to Tampa Bay. 

One of those players was Leonard Fournette, whom Brady initially pushed the Bucs to add before the 2020 season. Fournette helped the Bucs win a Super Bowl and earned Brady's trust along the way.

So when news spread that Fournette was making a free-agent visit to Brady's former home in Foxboro, the quarterback immediately grabbed the phone.

"When he signed back he called me. He was like, 'Man, what's your ass doing up there, man?'" Fournette shared with the media on Tuesday. "I'm like, 'Trying to figure some things out.' So he signed back, and it was a no-brainer. You know, why wouldn't I go back?"

While Patriots fans may not particularly enjoy Brady taking active stops to thwart a potential free-agent signing, Fournette's visit to New England appeared to be a case of the running back gaining leverage to get some extra cash out of the Bucs before signing. The Patriots are also well-stocked at the running back spot and weren't exactly in the salary cap position to sign Fournette to the three-year, $21 million contract with $11 million guaranteed that he signed with the Bucs.