Patriots news: Tom Brady shushes retirement; unleashing Jonnu Smith

Hey Tom Brady, are you retiring from the NFL or are you not? On his “Let’s Go!” podcast with Jim Gray on Monday night, the former New England Patriots franchise quarterback addressed the premature reports of his retirement.

While he neither confirmed or denied the ESPN reports that surfaced over the weekend, it sounds like Brady just wanted the news to relayed to his fans from his own mouth, in his own way.

Here a juicy piece of what the 7-time Super Bowl champion had to say on the podcast, via WEEI:

"“Only I know when the time is right… There’s a lot of interest in when I am going to stop playing. I understand that. It’s not that I don’t recognize that, when I know I’ll know and when don’t know I don’t know. I am not going to race to some conclusion about that.”"

It truly sounds like Bradly already knows his path as he went on to express his disappointment that the news came out during NFL Championship Sunday.  As he believed the focus should be on the game, the media played their own game in seeing who could get the news out first.

Was it fake news or was it leaked news?

More than likely, it is the latter.  As New England Patriots fans know well, Brady typically always has method to what he says and what he does on and off the field.  It sounds like he wanted the retirement announcement to be a special one and it still can be.  But now, he is just going to make the sports world wait for it.

New England Patriots rumors: Jonnu Smith and his disappointing season

One of the biggest offseason free agent signings became one of the biggest disappointments for the New England Patriots in 2021.

With just 28 catches for 294 yards and a touchdown, it is safe to say Jonnu Smith didn’t really live up to the hype, especially when it comes to his raw talent and the big target he was assumed to be in a Patriots’ offense that historically utilized tight ends in the passing game.

While Hunter Henry did gain some chemistry with Mac Jones, Smith never really got in the flow.  ESPN’s Mike Reiss offered some insight as to why the former Tennessee Titans tight end never blasted off in New England…at least in 2021.

"“Some close to Smith wonder how much not taking part in the Patriots’ voluntary offseason program last year was a significant factor as to why (he struggled),” Reiss wrote. “While few scouts and coaches question his raw ability, they say he’s the type of player who needs refinement, which traces back to his college days and early years in Tennessee where he also experienced slow starts.”"

One of the main goals for the New England Patriots in 2022 will be unlocking and unleashing the talent that is Jonnu Smith.  Some of that will depend on who they bring in as the next offensive coordinator and any chemistry he forms with Jones.  Much of it, however, is going to depend on the focus and motivation of Smith who should be out to make amends for his down season.

Let’s hope he is committed to becoming a larger component in the Patriots’ offense and not one of those players with a big contract who just falters and never lives up to expectations.