Tom Brady is reportedly ‘prepared’ to meet with other teams in free agency
Jan 4, 2020; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) speaks with the media after a loss to the Tennessee Titans at Gillette Stadium. (Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports)
98.5 The Sports Hub staff report
Tom Brady plans on truly embracing his first jump into NFL free agency, as the 42-year-old quarterback is preparing to meet with other teams, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports.
From La Canfora:
Brady and his team will weigh all options available to determine which opportunity provides the best chance to continue competing for the Lombardi Trophy and to see what other organizations think of him at this late stage in his career. As one source put it, Brady will do his due diligence to assess all realistic possibilities, with it only “human nature” to explore this chance to embrace his free-agent status for the first time in his career.
Nothing about this is truly shocking, of course. It’s been said again and again that Brady, who has essentially always been under team control throughout his two-decade run in New England, wanted to have options for the first time in his career. Patriots owner Robert Kraft acknowledged as much and said that he understood why that’d be important for Brady.
Where those options lead Brady is still to be determined, but La Canfora did have some insight into Brady’s thinking.
Calling Brady’s approach to free agency “methodical,” La Canfora noted that Brady continues to tell people that he wants to play until he’s 45, and that he would like to mentor the next quarterback no matter where he lands. The belief on that second point is that Brady wants to show the world that the ‘TB12 method’ can work for more than just himself.
And though it’s almost easy to say that Brady is going to end up back in New England, La Canfora acknowledged that Brady’s uncertainty with the direction of the organization (from Kraft to Bill Belichick to the talent around him) could create legitimate pause when it comes to coming back for another run with the only NFL team he’s ever known.
Brady threw for 4,057 yards and 24 touchdowns in 16 games for the Patriots in 2019.
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