Tom Brady on Kaepernick's NFL future: 'He's certainly qualified'

Tom Brady sang a different tune about Colin Kaepernick in an interview with CBS.

The Patriots quarterback was full of praise for Kaepernick when asked by Norah O'Donnell for a piece that aired on CBS' "Sunday Morning" show.

"I sure hope so," Brady said when asked if Kaepernick can play again in the NFL. "I've always watched him and admired him, the way that he's played. He was a great young quarterback.

"He came to our stadium and beat us and took his team to the Super Bowl in 2012. He accomplished a lot in the pros as a player and he's certainly qualified and I hope he gets a shot."

The five-time Super Bowl champion's comments come after he told a Boston radio station on Monday that he doesn't spend much time thinking about the out-of-work signalcaller.

"I mean not this time of year," Brady said in an appearance on WEEI's "Kirk and Callahan Show," "my attention goes in a lot of places, so not much."

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Brady, 40, added that he doesn't know Kaepernick "very well."

"I mean I've never really had a conversation with him," Brady said.

Brady also said he doesn't pay much attention to the national anthem protests that have dominated headlines since Kaepernick began kneeling last season to bring attention to police brutality against minorities.

Kaepernick has been out of the league since opting out of his 49ers contract this spring. Despite the support of Brady and Aaron Rodgers ("I think he should be on a roster right now"), Kaepernick remains on the sidelines.

As for Brady, now in his 18th season, he told O'Donnell that he hopes to be 45 before making a decision on retiring.

"I do want to go out on my terms," Brady said. "I do want to go out playing my best."

Brady, who picked up his fourth Super Bowl MVP award in February when he rallied the Patriots from a 28-3 deficit to beat the Falcons in OT, also repeated his 'what-me-worry?' stance on concussions.

“I don’t worry about them, no,” Brady told O’Donnell. “I mean, I’m not oblivious to them. I mean, I understand the risks that, you know, come with…the physical nature of our game.”