Tom Brady will have three options once the 2019 NFL campaign concludes.
Brady could elect to hang up his cleats, which wouldn’t be terribly surprising given his age. But if the future Hall of Fame quarterback decides to play a 21st season in the league, he’ll either have to work out a new deal with the New England Patriots or find a job elsewhere.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported earlier this week Brady returning to New England is the least likely of the three aforementioned scenarios to come to fruition. In turn, talking heads and fans alike have attempted to rationalize where Brady could play in 2020 if he were to leave Foxboro. Max Kellerman thinks there’s a solid fit for the six-time Super Bowl champion in each conference.
“So the question is, when you look at the landscape, what team is ready to win or almost ready to win but really needs a quarterback?” Kellerman said Friday on “First Take.” “…How are these two teams? One, Chicago Bears. That’s a team with tradition, only one Super Bowl. They’ve always been missing a quarterback. They have an offensive-minded head coach and a vicious defense.
“The other, the Oakland, soon-to-be-Los Vegas Raiders with Jon Gruden. Derek Carr has been playing well, but you have to ask yourself, is he the long-term solution and do you think you can win a Super Bowl with him in the next two years? I think that’s more of an outside possibility, but when I survey the landscape and I think what team makes the most sense, do you believe in Trubisky or not? I do not. If I were the Bears and I thought I was ready to win now, I’d grab Brady for a season.”
Of Kellerman’s two suggestions, one has to imagine the Bears would appeal to Brady more than the Raiders. Chicago seems to have far fewer holes than Silver and Black, and it’s tough to imagine Brady would want to deal with all of the hoopla that will come with the franchise’s move to Vegas.
If Brady were to leave the Patriots, his decision for a new team likely would boil down to Super Bowl aspirations and a smooth transition for his family. That’s why Mike Florio’s pair of suggestions — the New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers — seem more practical than Kellerman’s.
