Tom Brady staying re-signing with the New England Patriots will depend on whether Bill Belichick actually wants him to stay.
New England Patriots QB Tom Brady won’t be the first football player, or future Hall-of-Famer, to finish his career wearing an unfamiliar uniform if he leaves New England.
Johnny Unitas ended his playing days as a backup on the San Diego Chargers. Joe Montana, Brett Favre, and Peyton Manning were property of the Chiefs, Vikings, and Broncos respectively.
Bill Belichick, who shops for the groceries and cooks the dinner for the New England Patriots, is known for regularly changing the recipe. Players often depart Foxboro in advance of their “sell by” date. Just ask Ty Law. Or Adam Vinatieri. Or Richard Seymour.
And a player’s accomplishments for New England is seldom a factor. Law is a Hall-of-Famer. Vinatieri may well follow. Seymour earned a pair of Pro Bowl nods in Oakland. Vince Wilfork. Nate Solder. Lawyer Milloy. The list goes on.
This isn’t just a football thing or a Patriots thing. It’s a sports thing. Heck, it was barely a month ago when Boston Red Sox fans got their first glimpse of Mookie Betts in Dodger blue.
So while the football world wonders where Tom Brady prefers to play, it’s worth asking: does Belichick even want him back? Here are three reasons the answer may be no.
Tom Brady is declining
Offer any excuse you like. His receivers failed him. He missed Rob Gronkowski. His pass protection stunk. But the fact is that 2019 was Brady’s worst NFL season. He posted career worsts, or near worsts, in completion percentage, touchdowns, touchdown percentage, yards per attempt and quarterback rating.
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And Brady wasn’t just bad in comparison to his own lofty standards. His completion percentage ranked 27th, behind Mitchell Trubisky and Mason Rudolph. His touchdown percentage ranked 24th. Ryan Fitzpatrick and Jameis Winston bested him in quarterback rating, where he finished 19th overall.
Frankly, it had to happen eventually. No TB12 voodoo keeps a 42-year-old quarterback from showing his age. Even Tom Brady was going to get old. We didn’t know exactly when it would happen. But we would be foolish to assume it would be anything but sooner than later.
Bill Belichick is no fool. He knew Brady’s decline was coming. It’s why he spent a 2nd round pick on Jimmy Garoppolo when Brady was “just” 37 years old.
It’s why he scooped up Jarrett Stidham in the 4th round last year. Belichick had Brady prepared to replace Drew Bledsoe. So too Matt Cassel, Brian Hoyer, Jacoby Brissett, Garoppolo and Stidham were prepared if something happened to Brady.
Indeed, if it’s Belichick’s preference to sever ties with a player too soon rather than too late, Brady may already have overstayed his welcome.
Tom Brady wants control
It’s more common in the NBA (see: James, LeBron, and Jordan, Michael). But great athletes want, indeed deserve, some say over who joins them in the locker room. Tom Brady is no different. He wants some control.
On the one hand, Brady wants to win. It makes perfect sense he’d want the Patriots to acquire the talent to assist him in winning an unprecedented seventh Super Bowl ring. There is no better way to end a career.
On the other hand, Bill Belichick enjoys near total control over football operations in New England. He has ever since resigning as the “HC of the NYJ” over 20 years ago.
With nine Super Bowl appearances and six championships, he has little reason to defer to anyone else’s opinions about his football team, Brady included.
Bill Belichick is the captain of his own ship and not even Tom Brady can change that.
Belichick will outlast Tom Brady
If Tom Brady re-signs and plays out the rest of his career in New England or departs for wherever Bill Belichick isn’t going anywhere.
As much as fans wonder how much longer Brady can keep playing, the 67-year-old Belichick shows no signs of slowing down. It’s clear the competitive fires still burn under the hoodie.
It’s hard to dispute that Tom Brady is already the GOAT among NFL players. But Belichick arguably still has one more hill to ascend: most career coaching victories. He trails Don Shula by 55 wins. Which means if all goes to plan, he’ll be the undisputed king of the coaching hill early in the 2024 season.
And if he captures a seventh Super Bowl ring with someone other than Brady under center? Such a record might taste even sweeter.
Both Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are proud and accomplished men, and they will forever be joined in the Patriots history books. But as for the Patriots near future? Regardless of who replaces him, and regardless of what the owner wants, It’s time for Patriots fans to prepare for even Tom Brady to be shown the door.