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(PHOTO: Greg M. Cooper - USA TODAY Sports) Tom Brady is certainly heading into uncharted territory this offseason as he’s potentially a 6-time Super Bowl Champion without a team in 2020.
After losing in the Wild Card round at the hands to Tennessee on Saturday night, Brady heads into this offseason with a contract that’s about to expire and a fair amount of uncertainty. It seems strange to imagine, but the idea of whether or not an extension will get hammered out to keep him in the fold heading into next season doesn’t seem to be a given.
It’s a bizarre place for someone of Brady’s stature to be, especially given his history with this organization and all the unbelievable moments he’s brought to this region over the last 20-years. Most would think that bringing him back would be a no-brainer, but there doesn’t appear to be any guarantees at this point. In fact, even Brady doesn’t seem to know what his future holds.
So what will he do if his future isn’t with New England? While many are already starting to speculate, with Dallas, the LA Chargers and Miami Dolphins among destinations people are already pondering, even Brady doesn’t know what he’ll do if the door closes on a return with the Patriots.
Speaking with Peter King, Brady admitted that he’s not sure what will he’ll do if he doesn’t take the field at Gillette Stadium next season.
“Yeah,” said Brady when King asked him what it was like to be a ‘free man’ this offseason. “I think I’m just . . . I’ll explore those opportunities whenever they are. If it’s the Patriots, great. If that doesn’t work, I don’t know. I just don’t know. I love playing football. I still want to play football. I think I still can play at a championship level. I’ve just got to go do it. I’m motivated to get back to work and training.”
Former receiver Antonio Brown posted on his social media accounts that he doesn’t want to play for anyone but Brady in 2020, which given his past comments, that bridge appears to be burned for Brown in New England. As a result, that would likely have Brown rooting for Brady to play elsewhere. But given the importance Brady places on his family, the thought of having to pack everything up and move them somewhere else would seem to be a worst-case scenario that he and his agent would seemingly only consider if things reach a point of no return.
For now, Brady sounds like a player who really wants to stay. The only problem appears to be that he may not be willing to take another home town discount, which could keep Bill Belichick from making the financial commitment to keep him here. There’s no question that they need to surround him with additional talent, but the team is also faced with the challenge of re-signing free agents like Kyle Van Noy, Joe Thuney and Devin McCourty, along with whoever else they may look to bring in this offseason.
Needless to say, it’s a difficult situation. At this point, you can tell by Brady’s comments that he’s a player who is hoping to stick around. Whether or not the team is willing to pay him what it may take for that to happen now remains the biggest question heading into this offseason.
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