Too soon
We have a possible GOAT. Rather than insure he has the best possible supporting cast to win over his next 4 contract years we urinate away a HIGH pick on a backup QB for 2015? I say no. Emphatic no.
It's more a question of how long they will wait. That's only partially driven by how long they think Brady can play at a high level. It will also be driven by who's available and when and at what price.
How long can he play at a high level?
We all hope Brady will prove to be more like Elway (rings at 37 and 38) and Favre than the guys who packed it in before they turned 36. But as tough as TB is, he's already lost a full season to injury and is spending this off-season rehabbing another.
Belichick and Kraft make decisions with their heads, not their hearts, and I don't think that they will put all their eggs in the basket that TB will have the durability of Manning or Favre, as much as they hope he will. Brady gets sacked a lot and, just as importantly, hit a lot. The average retirement age of an SB Era HOF QB is 37.5 and the median is 38 (those numbers are skewed by old timers like Len Dawson, Sonny Jurgensen and Johnny Unitas who retired at 40 as well as by Warren Moon who hung around until 44); 37/38 is just about when Brady's current contract will run out. And, no matter how we explain it away, no QB has won an SB past the age of 38.
The rest is a matter of who is available, when he is available and at what price.
I think they'll take the next QB they feel they can get at a price that reflects the potential value to the franchise.
Kraft is a businessman and counts the beans and runs the numbers with the best of them. He knows that he got lucky beyond his wildest dreams by getting Brady for $303k in his rookie year ($193 base plus $110 bonus) and $275k base plus maybe $75k incentives in his second year. He already knows that he'll be playing with several million of house money when BB tells him, "this is the guy."
Speaking of "lucky," I wouldn't be surprised if they hoard a couple of picks for Andrew Luck next year. But, the one thing we can be sure of is that if the Pats are interested in a QB, we'll only find out about it when Goodell reads the card that begins "And with the _ pick in the 20__ NFL Draft, the Patriots take...".
And, Joe was also "a possible GOAT" when they picked up Steve Young.
if the Pats take Mallett.
