New England Patriots: Tom Brady could actually leave New England

Tom Brady, 20-year NFL veteran, quarterback for the New England Patriots, and arguably the greatest player football has ever seen has been the vocal point of rumors surrounding his potential departure from the team.

Tom Brady was drafted by the New England Patriots with the 199th pick in the 2000 NFL Draft, and during the second game of the 2001 NFL Season, then-franchise quarterback Drew Bledsoe was sidelined after a brutal hit from Jets linebacker Mo Lewis, thrusting the young Brady into action.

The rest, as they, was history.

Brady would go on to rack up three regular season MVP awards, a record six Super Bowl titles, four Super Bowl MVP awards, among many others accolades with the Patriots.

With that being said, could he retire? Or even join another team?

Connections elsewhere

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There have been several reports of Tom Brady and his wife, Gisele Bündchen, putting their Brookline, MA estate on sale for a reported $4.5 million, with Brady’s trainer putting his up for sale as well. There has also been speculation that they could be on the move to Nashville, Tennessee. Which also happens to be the home of the Tennessee Titans.

This is significant because the head coach for the Titans so happens to be Brady’s former longtime teammate, Mike Vrabel.

As teammates from 2001 to 2008, they went to 4 Super Bowls, winning three of them. With him even catching a few touchdown passes from Brady, despite being a linebacker, with the most notable coming during Super Bowl XXXIX in a victory over the Eagles.

This notion may not be far-fetched, with not only the Brady-Vrabel connection being there, but the Titans having very good young weapons Tom Brady would enjoy playing with. Young talents such as A.J. Brown and Corey Davis, and veterans like TE Delanie Walker and RB Derrick Henry. Tennessee also has an extremely solid offensive line, unlike New England at the moment.

This would be surprising, but there seems to be a possibility.

The New Contract

During the offseason, Brady had signed a two-year, $70 million contract extension, which raises his 2019 salary from $15 million to $23 million, then he would’ve been scheduled to make $30 million in 2020 and $32 million in 2021.

However, details surfaced later on that the last two years of his deal would void on the last day of the 2019-20 league year, making him a free agent, unless of course he decided to retire.

It has also been reported that there is a clause in Brady’s contract that would not allow the team to use a franchise tag or transition tag on him.

Frustrations in New England

It has been said numerous times that Tom had been frustrated with how New England’s receiver core has turned out.

Before the season started, New England Patriots great tight end Rob Gronkowski had called it quits and wideout Josh Gordon had yet to be reinstated by the NFL, leaving Julian Edelman as Brady’s top weapon. However, things started to look up. Gordon had been reinstated and New England had managed to acquire superstar wideout Antonio Brown. This unit looked unstoppable and was seemingly ready to wreak havoc on opposing defenses.

Quickly, though, things went a little south. Brown had been accused of sexual misconduct by two separate women, which would cause owner Robert Kraft to cut ties with him after just 10 days. A move that Brady strongly disagreed with. Then a later on in the season, injuries would pile up.

Young tackle Isaiah Wynn would go on injured reserve after just two games, rookie WR N’Keal Harry had been on IR since before the season started, not being activated until week 9. Then Josh Gordon suffered a knee injury in the Pats’ victory over the New York Giants, which place him on IR, then released by the team once he was healthy.

The New England Patriots would go on to trade for former Atlanta Falcons receiver Mohamed Sanu in exchange for a 2nd-round pick. He turned in a nice performance in the Week 9 loss against Baltimore, racking up 10 catches on 14 targets, 81 yards, and a touchdown.

The offense has shown cracks all season long to this point, and Brady has said repeatedly that they must get better and do their part. On the bright side, the team is headed into the bye week, where they can make adjustments and players are able to rest up and get healthy. This unit can get better as the year rolls on.

Will he stay, or will he go?

Whether Tom Brady will stay with New England, play for another team, or even retire is anyone’s guess. Only he knows what he will do.

Brady has reiterated that he would like to play well into his 40s, and with coach Bill Belichick saying he would consider coaching into his 70s, there is hope for Patriots fans that Tom will continue to play in New England, so that him and Belichick could potentially retire together.

Every possibility remains to be seen.