New England Patriots: Tom Brady was great magnet

Former New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was the ultimate player magnet for the team.

It’s been made abundantly clear that the departure of the best quarterback of all-time is a devastating blow to the New England Patriots offense and to the team’s future outlook generally. Anyone who doesn’t see that reality is living in Wonderland.

A recent article outlined the almost incredible, other-worldly statistics that this man has accumulated in 20 seasons in New England. They are staggeringly impressive. It’s hard to imagine they can be surpassed, especially with the GOAT still playing at a high level.

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I can personally see Tom Brady playing another 3-5 years if he so chooses. His shoddy treatment at the hands of the Patriots hierarchy will fuel yet another renaissance for this driven individual.

The last thing you want to see happen is for Brady to be super motivated. That’s unless he’s on your team, of course. Well, he is motivated this season and probably for years beyond.

I’ve written about the heart of Brady. Never, ever, ever sell this man short.

Tampa Bay will be the beneficiary. New England the loser. Bet on it.

But there is another negative side to this incalculable loss that is also evident and will be evident moving forward.

Former New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was the ultimate magnet bringing other great players to New England.

That side is that Brady was a player magnet for great players to consider or actually make a move to New England. The prospect of playing with the greatest was an attraction as powerful as a huge magnet at the center of the NFL galaxy.

During Brady’s tenure in New England, players were attracted to New England simply because he was here. Not all of them found there way here for a myriad of reasons, that couldn’t happen. But some did.

Marcellus Bennett was one. Bennett was a super addition to New England’s offense if only for a year. He was very underrated during his tenure here and I was sorry to see him move on.

Bennett was a terrific complement to Rob Gronkowski and created a nightmare tight end scenario for any defense.

He also made key plays during the 2016 season (and 2 games in 2017) including a signature play in the Super Bowl vs. Atlanta to set the stage for James White’s winning touchdown.

Antonio Brown was another super talent whom Brady helped get to New England. Brown was a mega-talented wide receiver.

The lure of playing with Brady was the key to his signing with New England. Brown’s tenure only lasted one game, but it was Brady who was the lure for his coming to New England at all.

Brady’s influence also extended to the defense. James Harrison, the great Steeler linebacker (and likely hall of famer) for so many years, came to New England in 2017 to win a Super Bowl hopefully, playing with Brady.

It was Brady who gave the team a chance to do that each and every year. For nearly 20 years.

And how many times did we hear the rumor that Odell Beckham, Jr. the uber-talented wide receiver could be traded to New England and that he longed to be united with the great Brady?

There were also the Chad Ochocinco‘s and Reggie Wayne’s. Great players once who while they didn’t make a mark in New England still signed and went to Foxborough to have a chance to play with the best. It certainly wasn’t the golden sunshiny weather that attracted them.

So that was another asset that Brady brought to the table for years and years in New England. And, need I remind anyone, that he’s still a magnet now for Tampa Bay. Witness one Gronkowski’s returning to football to again play with the best.

So that’s the story. In addition to losing the best quarterback ever, we also lost his ability to help bring other top players to New England, merely because he was here. One look at the Patriots free-agent signings this offseason attests to that fact, as well.

All-in-all, again it adds up to one thing. The Patriots made a horrendously poor decision to mistreat their all-time best player leading to his defection to Tampa Bay.

Tampa Bay and Brady are the winners in all this. We will see the full fallout from that huge mistake likely beginning in September.