98.5 The Sports Hub staff report
According to a report from CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora, the New Orleans Saints were apparently one Drew Brees retirement announcement away from replacing him with Tom Brady.
“Had Brees retired, as he long opined about and strongly considered, I’m told Tom Brady had very serious interest in the Saints and vice versa,” La Canfora said. “Brady was waiting and watching that closely. Would have been a very real possibility.”
Well, isn’t that something.
Had Brady gone to New Orleans as Brees’ replacement, he would’ve joined an offense featuring stud wideout Michael Thomas (an NFL-record 149 catches in 2019), as well as superstar running back Alvin Kamara. It’s also safe to assume Brady would’ve brought Rob Gronkowski out of retirement, too, giving the Saints a legit one-two of Jared Cook and Gronk at tight end.
Instead, Brees ultimately decided to return for a 20th NFL season and re-signed with the Saints, leaving Brady without a potential New Orleans fit. Brady still left the New England Patriots for an NFC South team, however, signing a two-year, fully-guaranteed deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
And Brady’s “backup” landing spot isn’t too shabby in terms of offensive firepower, either, as he’ll now lead a Tampa attack with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin as his No. 1 and 2 targets at wideout, and with Gronkowski at tight end.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick, meanwhile, seems more than confident to roll with either veteran journeyman Brian Hoyer or second-year pro Jarrett Stidham as his team’s starting quarterback in 2020.
“We’ll do what we always do, which is try to prepare the team the best that we can, utilize our players and the skills that they have and put ourselves in the best position we can to be competitive and win,” Belichick told the NFL Network’s Rich Eisen last month. “That’s what we always do, and we’ll continue to do that.”