Does Tom Brady really want to go some place where things are totally different for his age-43 season?
It seems the New England Patriots, maybe not in those exact terms, plan on posing that question to their longtime quarterback later this month.
Of course, Brady will hit free agency for the first time in his career when the new league year opens March 18, with the legal tampering period beginning two days prior. It’s no sure thing that Brady ends up re-signing with the Pats, but it’s also not impossible he continues calling New England home.
According to NBC Sports Boston’s Tom Curran, Brady certainly has not closed the door on a Patriots return, and the team has a clear idea of how they want to pitch him to stay.
From Curran:
“When I asked a source whether Brady had washed his hands of the Patriots, I was told, “Of course not. There’s an attachment there. You can’t be someplace for 20 years and not have an attachment. That’s just not who he is.
“Brady, I was told, will listen closely to what the Patriots have to say.
“What will the Patriots say? That this is the best place for him. That there are innumerable things in place here that – if he goes to another city, another franchise, another facility, another coaching staff – he just won’t have.
“Wherever he goes, there won’t be one guy who knows what he wants done and how he wants it done,” said an NFL source. “Is he going to coach the receivers coach on how to coach the receivers? Or coach the offensive coordinator? There’s a million things.”
The current CBA negotiations reportedly are holding up the Patriots’ talks with Brady. However, one NFL insider has an idea of what would indicate the Patriots are out of the running for Brady.
