For many, it’s hard to imagine Tom Brady playing for a team other than the New England Patriots.
For Shannon Sharpe, it’s not that difficult.
Sharpe explained Tuesday on FOX Sports 1’s “Undisputed” why he totally could see the Patriots at some point moving on from Brady, who’s in the midst of his 20th season with New England, and his logic centers around head coach Bill Belichick.
“Coach Belichick is unlike any other coach that we’ve ever seen. Coach Belichick does not major in sentimentality,” Sharpe said. “So all this ‘Tom Brady deserves to go out on his own terms.’ That’s not how Coach Belichick sees it.”
“What (Belichick) has seen happen is if you do not have a bridge to go from an all-time great quarterback to the next, you lag in purgatory for a long time,” the former NFL tight end-turned-talking head added. “You see, the Miami Dolphins have never replaced Dan Marino. Dan Marino retired after the ’99 season. And here we are about to go into two decades later, and they still have not replaced him. Buffalo still has not replaced Jim Kelly. Denver has not adequately replaced John Elway. He retired after the ’98 season. Although they did get three great years with Peyton Manning. And so Coach Belichick is looking like, ‘You know what? If I can move on a year early and have a bridge, I’m good with that.’ ”
This comes on the heels of ESPN’s Adam Schefter theorizing Monday before New England’s 33-0 win over the New York Jets that Brady could be setting up to move on. Both Brady and his personal trainer, Alex Guerrero, have put their homes up for sale, and the 42-year-old quarterback currently is slated to become a free agent after this season thanks to his contract voiding. Not to mention Brady recently conceded he’s “close to the end” of his NFL career.
Maybe Brady is plotting his retirement. Or maybe Brady is gearing up to play elsewhere in 2020. The most likely scenario is Brady leads the Patriots on another deep playoff run — perhaps another Super Bowl title — and then returns to New England for a 21st season, but it’s not a foregone conclusion all things considered.
