Trade Tom Brady? Why Shannon Sharpe Won't Rule Out Patriots Moving On

For some, it’s blasphemous to think the New England Patriots someday would consider moving on from Tom Brady.

For others, the scenario seems very realistic, all things considered.

Shannon Sharpe falls into the latter camp, as the former NFL tight end-turned-talking head said Friday on FS1’s “Undisputed” that he could envision a situation in which Brady and the Patriots part ways, resulting in the quarterback finishing his career with another organization.

“I’ve never been married, Skip (Bayless), but they say once you get divorced, it’s a lot easier to get divorced a second, third or fourth time,” Sharpe said. “Once you’ve tried to move on from a player, it makes it a lot easier to do it again, even the great Tom Brady. He knows that Coach (Bill) Belichick tried to move on without him.”

"The Patriots could've easily given Brady $35M and nobody would've thought twice. Tom said he wants to play until 45. … Have you ever heard coach Belichick say, 'Tom wants to play until he's 45 and I believe he can'?" — @ShannonSharpe pic.twitter.com/p7pm1CeNWF

— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) August 9, 2019

"Belichick believes that it's his system. … There's a reason they put this contract together the way they did. They don't want to be married at the end of the year. They might re-new their vows, but in the meantime, you sleep upstairs, I'll sleep downstairs." — @ShannonSharpe pic.twitter.com/bfbY6Nu0hM

— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) August 9, 2019

Sharpe is referring to the rumors that Belichick wanted to move on from Brady and proceed with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo prior to the Patriots trading the latter to the San Francisco 49ers before the deadline in 2017. All Brady’s done since is reach two more Super Bowls, winning one to bring his ring count to six.

Yet questions still linger over Brady’s future at age 42. He recently agreed to a two-year contract “extension” with New England, but the final two years of the deal void on the final day of the 2019 league year, causing some confusion as to what comes next.

Will Brady retire? Will he re-sign with the Patriots? Or will he take his talents elsewhere, either in free agency or in a subsequent trade as he continues to fight off Father Time?

Sharpe isn’t ruling out anything, knowing full well Belichick is quite shrewd when it comes to personnel decisions.

“I could (see the Patriots moving on from Brady) because they’ve already tried to do it once — Coach Belichick tried to,” Sharpe said. “Tom Brady won the first round. I do not believe he will win the second round.”

Of course, it’s important to consider the strong relationship between Brady and Patriots owner Robert Kraft. This ultimately might be one decision that’s above Belichick’s pay grade.