After 20 seasons with the New England Patriots, Tom Brady left the team in 2020 and joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And while the real reasons for his departure are still up in the air (rift with Bill Belichick/Robert Kraft, competitive reasons, wanted to spend his retirement in Florida instead of New England, as many others have done and will continue to do until the end of time), nothing changes the fact that it happened.
And, if we really want to get technical with it, he made the right decision.
In a recent appearance on "Hang Out with Sean Hannity," former Patriots coach Bill Belichick spoke about Brady's decision to leave the team in 2020 and revealed that he felt it was the right move for the Michigan alum.
"Tom leaving was absolutely the right thing for him to do," Belichick said. "We didn't have a good team in 2020. We just didn't have a good football team. We had all those guys that left -- (Rob) Gronkowski and (Julian) Edelman. Most of our team was gone. (Devin) McCourty and a few others were still there, but they were about to go, too. We were just at the end."
"And honestly, I was happy for him that things worked out well for him in Tampa, because he was with a team ... and then he went on and won. That made me happy for him, because it wouldn't have gone well in 2020 in New England. On this, I can guarantee that."
Tom Brady was right to leave New England in 2020
It hurt at the time, it hurts today, and it's probably going to hurt in 20 years. But Brady 100% made the right call because, let's face it, he was never going to win another championship in New England.
At the time, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs had just won a Super Bowl and looked like the NFL's next dynasty (which they were). Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson had just won his first MVP award at 22 years old. Josh Allen came into his own during his second season with the Buffalo Bills and looked like a future star. And teams like the Tennessee Titans (beat the Patriots in Brady's final game for the team and made the AFC Championship Game), Cincinnati Bengals, and Los Angeles Chargers (were about to draft Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert, respectively) looked to be on the way up.
The AFC was getting more stacked as the Patriots were inevitably falling off a cliff even before the GOAT's departure. Brady was never going to win another Super Bowl in New England, and with how competitive we all know he is, there was no reason for him to stay on a sinking ship when he had an opportunity to add to his collection elsewhere.
Selfishly, yes, it would have been great for the seven-time Super Bowl champion to spend his whole career with the Patriots. But the team's glory days were behind them, and for Brady to end his career on a high note, leaving the squad after two decades needed to be done.
Even if it hurt the feelings of an entire region (and half of Connecticut).
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