"I went to the green room right before they take you to the stage," Faulk said, via CSN New England. "And the girl who took me to the green room, she was a New England Patriots fan. And she was like, 'I love it!' So that just gave me that much more ... confidence."
Faulk, who was making an obvious statement on behalf of Patriots nation in support of the suspended quarterback, felt much better after the praise started rolling in. He even got a call from Brady himself.
"'Thank you for just showing the respect that we had for each other,'" Brady told Faulk. "That was all it was. It wasn't a big, drawn-out deal, nothing like that. It was, 'Thank you.' ...
"We may not talk every day," Faulk added, "but whenever we do pick up the phone to call to each other, we can help each other out."
Faulk's faux protest was one of the more memorable moments of the draft this year. With Brady's four-game suspension reinstated just days before the start of the big event, the timing for his display of friendship and respect could not have been better. He had an audience.
The best part of Faulk's story, though, is that he snuck the jersey into the draft covertly. The 12-year veteran and three-time Super Bowl champion entered the Auditorium Theatre with his wife and a bag, where the No. 12 was stashed safely away.