NEWSLETTER
The NFL quarterback carousel is always one of the more intriguing storylines in sports, and this offseason will be no different.
Lamar Jackson is due a monster payday in Baltimore. Aaron Rodgers will be a topic of conversation as the Packers inch closer to being mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. Jimmy Garoppolo and Geno Smith are soon-to-be-free agents that will draw interest. And there’s going to be more.
But what about Tom Brady?
The 45-year-old signal-caller is back, but for how long? And more importantly, for whom? Brady is playing on a one-year contract with the Bucs, and things haven’t been as rosy as they were in his first two seasons in Tampa Bay. Will Brady want to play elsewhere if the Bucs can’t turn it around or provide him the assurances needed to quench his never-ending thirst for a Super Bowl? Probably.
In a recent story at The Athletic, Jeff Howe breaks down the obvious fits, and the not so obvious one. Howe pencils in the 49ers (Brady’s hometown team), Raiders (Josh McDaniel reunion?), and Titans (Vrabel is his boy, after all). All of those make sense to a certain extent.
San Francisco seems like the obvious and most probable next stop for Brady. I would personally love to see him in Las Vegas (where I will eventually be a transplanted resident). Tennessee probably would jump at the idea of going from Tannehill to Brady if the opportunity arose, but that’s probably a long shot.
But then, Howe suggests the unthinkable … a return to New England!?
Brady and Bill Belichick still have an abundance of respect for one another. They’ve made points to say it publicly on multiple occasions since the QB departed for Tampa. They also spent 23 minutes together in the visiting locker room at Gillette Stadium following Brady’s return in 2021 — an appointment they set up prior to the game.
The Patriots are slated to have more than $50 million in cap space in 2023, so they can again address their flaws, this time on the heels of a couple impressive draft classes….He’d either need to be comfortable with (Matt) Patricia or push for a reunion with someone like Bill O’Brien, currently the Alabama offensive coordinator, to ensure he’s not wasting a season as a 46-year-old.
A Brady-Belichick reunion would be absolutely NUTS, but I’m here for the madness. It all comes across as a long-shot, but Howe answers some questions surrounding a potential reunion, including what the Pats would do with Mac Jones, how Brady and Belichick could co-exist, and more.
Check it out, here:
