Everyone is talking about Tom Brady.
That’s right. It’s Super Bowl Week and the Patriots aren’t playing for the Lombardi Trophy this season, yet most of the chatter out of Miami revolves around the New England quarterback, especially in wake of the cryptic photo he posted to social media Thursday night.
Nick Wright floated his theory about the much-discussed pic on Friday’s episode of “First Things First” on FS1. Basically, Wright believes it’s a power play by Brady, who wants to put additional pressure on the Patriots ahead of testing free agency for the first time in his NFL career.
“I know Tom Brady wants us having this conversation, really because I think he’s continuing to put the pressure on the Patriots,” Wright said. “Because the other thing we know is Tom Brady wants to stay a Patriot. In a perfect world, for the right money and the right circumstances, he never wanted to leave, and I think this is him getting another news cycle out of a little panic in Boston. … And so it is Tom Brady exerting a little bit more leverage, a little bit more influence and having a bit of a ‘look at me’ moment as he’s trying to figure out what the next chapter of his football story is going to be.”
"Tom Brady wants us to have this conversation. He's continuing to put the pressure on the Patriots. He wants to stay a Patriot. In a perfect world, for the right money and the right circumstances, he never wanted to leave." — @getnickwright pic.twitter.com/YYRYNhZDuW
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) January 31, 2020
The timing of Brady’s post certainly is interesting, as it came just three days before the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers are scheduled to square off in Super Bowl LIV at Hard Rock Stadium — enough time to dominate the news cycle for a day or so while also taking some shine away from the big game.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter since has reported the post has nothing to do with Brady’s future, but that won’t stop fans, pundits and even players from speculating as to whether there’s some hidden meaning behind the photo, which shows the six-time Super Bowl champion (in silhouette form) walking into (or out of?) Gillette Stadium. After all, Brady’s every little move is being evaluated nowadays in the hopes of discovering clues as to where he’s going to play in 2020.
Brady has spent his entire 20-year career with the Patriots, but the 42-year-old reportedly is “prepared” to meet with other teams while testing free agency. So, for now, the drama continues, with Super Bowl LIV in many ways playing second fiddle to the TB12 saga.
