You need to re-read the reports. The local media was reporting that Kraft told Bill to trade Jimmy loooong before the ESPN piece. That is where Wickersham got his info - from our beat guys. To be a fan of the Pats as you say for the last 20 years would also mean that I know Bill wants to move on from a player a year early rather than a year too late which would made perfect sense from him to move on from Brady at age 40 and put in Jimmy. Bill said when he drafted Jimmy that you always want to be early on the QB position. He was forced by Kraft to trade Jimmy precisely because Brady had performed so well those 3 years (2014-2017). We know how desperately Bill wanted him because he did not trade him in the spring when he could have gotten more trade value but hung on to him until the trade deadline. That is how much he wanted to keep him. Easily his worst GM move given what we would have gotten in March vs. Oct.
This is wrong on so many levels.
Let’s start with the facts. First the reports you are referring to dont say what you think they did. Secondly if a reported says bb wanted to trade Brady and a Gm says he asks if Brady is available and bb laughs in his face, the report is wrong. You need to realize that a “report” is not a fact. A “report” is not bb or Kraft saying so. A report is someone with an agenda (ie clicks) saying something that may or may not have come from someone who turned out be wrong.
Next bill wanting to move on.
This would mean that BILL BELICHICK wanted to dump the qb that
-just won the Sb in a comeback from 28-3 which no other QBs living or dead could have done.
-won that Sb for the Secunderabad in 3 years.
-was at the moment the best qb in the nfl in addition to being the best ever
-had a very reasonable contract
- was clearly the leader of a championship caliber team
-had taken the team to at least the afccg 6 straight years
On a team that
-was clearly ready to go to the next 2 sbs.
-got it’s identity largely from the qb
In order to keep (and ultimately give another contract that Brady had) a QB who has proven nothing because tearing apart a championship team was a better alternative than needing to find a different QBs someday than the unproven guy.
The reason he didn’t trade him in the spring was because he had a Sb team with an older QB and no other backup. It was insurance against injury. A backup qb doesn’t lose value ftom
April to October. There was no need to make a trade until the last minute and no doubt he held out hope that Jimmy would sign an extension to stay a couple more years as the backup to eventually take over the model franchise in the nfl.
Finally Kraft himself denied it