MIAMI — Minutes after Rob Gronkowski urged Tom Brady to “test the market” in free agency this offseason, FOX NFL insider Jay Glazer shared his thoughts on the New England Patriots quarterback’s uncertain future.
“I can’t figure it out, because I think there’s time,” Glazer told NESN.com Tuesday during FOX’s pre-Super Bowl LIV media availability. “I don’t know if he’s going to give them a hometown discount now, but I think if — look, the Patriots obviously have the power to keep him there, but the checkbook and whether he wants to leave — look, change is hard for a lot of people. And I think what happens now is everybody has their two cents, trying to give him an opinion, and his mind is probably going to change a million times.
“But there’s other teams out there, also. Like, hey, if I’m the Chargers, I open up my checkbook and I’m like, ‘Here you go, Tom. Fill out how many commas you want.’ Because obviously, he’s a difference-maker when it comes to business. So I don’t know if Tom truly knows what he wants to do yet.”
Glazer believes the chances of Brady re-signing before the start of free agency are slim.
“I think it’ll drag on for a little while,” he said. “I think, like Drew Brees said the other day, he needs to take a breather, take a breath, and I think Tom does, also. Then at one point, you sit down with his team and decide, ‘OK, what’s our decision going to be?’ ”
Brady should have no shortage of suitors this offseason, but Glazer can’t see the 42-year-old, who has various business interests outside of football, signing with a smaller-market team. That would eliminate potential candidates like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts.
“I think he’ll go to a bigger market,” he said. “It’s Tom Brady.”
Brady is set to hit free agency for the first time in his career when the NFL league year opens March 18.
