Patriots Mailbag: Should Tom Brady Change Offseason Plan If He Returns?

Time is going to pass very slowly for New England Patriots fans this offseason.

The season ended just five days ago even though if you’ve been following Tom Brady news — or lack thereof — it has probably felt like weeks. Brady won’t hit free agency for another 68 days. Sixty-eight days! SIXTY-EIGHT DAYS!!

Sorry. That’s a long time to be dealing with the “will he” or “won’t he” questions before March 18.

Well, let’s tackle some of those in this week’s mailbag.

#MailDoug should Brady resign do you see the coaching staff pushing for his attendance at OTAs and other voluntary practices to develop chemistry with the WR? Seems that was missing this past year
— @joey_zakrzewski
I definitely think Brady should be at OTAs next season if he’s back with the Patriots. One of the biggest reasons why the Patriots’ offense struggled this season was Brady’s lack of chemistry with young wide receivers. Even if Brady’s presence at OTAs would only minimally help, it still would be worthwhile.

At the very least, Brady will be working with N’Keal Harry, Mohamed Sanu, Jakobi Meyers and Gunner Olszewski, all of whom need more reps with Brady, in the spring. And there’s a decent chance that the Patriots will bring in more new faces at wide receiver. They also need to overhaul the tight end position.

It made sense for Brady to skip OTAs while he was still putting up top-tier numbers. He rated below average in yards per attempt, net yards per attempt, completion percentage, touchdown percentage and passer rating last season.

Throw in the fact that Brady might be working with a new offensive coordinator next season if Josh McDaniels leaves, and it makes sense for the QB to participate in voluntary workouts.

How would you rank the Patriots Free Agents in importance returning

Was the Loss of David Andrews this seasons most significant ?

What was Olivia’s favorite Christmas moment ?
— @TMurph207
I would rank the unrestricted free agents as so:

1. Tom Brady
2. Devin McCourty
3. Joe Thuney
4. Kyle Van Noy
5. Jamie Collins
6. Matthew Slater
7. Danny Shelton
8. Ted Karras
9. Elandon Roberts
10. Nate Ebner
11. Phillip Dorsett
12. Shilique Calhoun
13. Benjamin Watson
14. Marshall Newhouse
15. James Ferentz
16. Nick Folk

I don’t expect Thuney or Van Noy to return, assuming they’ll receive more money on the open market than the Patriots will be willing/able to pay.

Karras might seem high on that list, but he could slide into Thuney’s left guard slot if needed. We also don’t know David Andrews’ health after he missed last season with blood clots in his lungs. Karras is a valuable insurance piece at multiple positions who the Patriots know can start.

Andrews was significant, but I thought Karras played well, especially in the stretch run. I would say the loss of tight end Rob Gronkowski was more significant.

Olivia is my 2-year-old daughter. I think her favorite moment was probably coming downstairs on Christmas morning and seeing an Elsa Ice Palace playset. She also loved decorating cookies.

As of right now I’d imagine Edelman, Sanu and Harry will all be in New England for 2020. Who do you think the Patriots would like to target via trade? It seems unlikely they’ll overpay in Free Agency.
— @LB_XFL
I’m still pounding the table for Odell Beckham Jr. Get that deal done before free agency, and that’s a great incentive for Brady to return.

As for a lower-tiered player, I might look to see if the Jacksonville Jaguars would be willing to trade Chris Conley, Dede Westbrook or Marqise Lee after D.J. Chark emerged.

Adam Humphries didn’t work out great in his first season with the Tennessee Titans. Would they be willing to part with the slot receiver after one year?

Dante Pettis has disappointed with the San Francisco 49ers, and he would provide return experience.

Another splash? What about Allen Robinson? Would the Chicago Bears take a first-round pick for the last year of Robinson’s rights?

does gunner olshefski has what it takes to be the next grate patriots reciever
— @bradyfortnite12
That’s tough to say right now. Gunner Olszewski came in so raw as a former Division II cornerback. He’ll need to take a major leap from Year 1 to Year 2, and I think his year of experience at the position and in the system will help him immensely. He did seem to bulk up after hitting injured reserve. If he can maintain his quickness, then maybe he really could be a future slot receiver in the Patriots’ system.

New Giants head coach Joe Judge told Olszewski he reminded him of Danny Amendola. That’s some pretty high praise.

What’s the plan at QB if TB12 doesn’t return for 2020?
— @BriBriTheSlyGuy
Either draft a quarterback in the first round and have him compete with Jarrett Stidham or add a veteran quarterback to compete with Stidham.

The top draft options who could be there for the Patriots would be Justin Herbert, Jacob Eason or Jake Fromm. Jalen Hurts would be a lower-round option.

As far as veterans go, Teddy Bridgewater, Marcus Mariota and Cam Newton all could be available.

Do you think if Brady makes it the expiration of his contract, it guarantees he’s gone? My understanding is once the contract expires, it automatically applies $13m in dead cap space. Then any money he gets in a new contract would go on top of that. Lot to spend on one person.
— @ejlinehan
No, because the Patriots could just shift around Brady’s cap hits anyway to account for that money. Just shift an extra $6.5 million into the 2021 cap hit, and there’s really no difference.

Brady hitting free agency March 18 at 4 p.m. doesn’t guarantee anything.

Let’s go rapid fire.

#MailDoug Pats should trade for Eagles TE Dallas Goedert. What your thoughts?
— @vikramdasari
My thoughts are why would the Philadelphia Eagles trade Dallas Goedert?

What’s the appropriate contract to bring TB12 back?
— @wags617
Two years, $50 million.

@DougKyed #maildoug ? How does it feel for the season to end so early for the first time in your career? (I think that’s right, isn’t it?)
— @MrQuindazzi
Very odd. I guess I was fortunate the season ended when it did because I got pretty sick on Sunday and didn’t really get out of bed until Thursday morning.

what the hell do you do now?
— @aAAaaaaachie
Brady watch.

Thoughts on Jake Fromm for the Pats in the 1st round?
— @Schumann_max1
The State Farm guy?

I don’t know enough about individual prospects yet. I’ll know a lot more after the NFL Scouting Combine.

Special teams coordinator..WR coach..any ideas?
— @DaleBuehler
My guess would be Cam Achord becomes the top special teams coach and Troy Brown or Chad O’Shea take over wide receivers.

How in the heck did BB not prepare for Gronk’s retirement. Did he believe #87 was coming back to #Patriots when he traded Hollister on 4/29? #MailDoug
— @richyoung
Don’t think of Jacob Hollister as a tight end as much as a wide receiver. Hollister was never going to replace Rob Gronkowski. He was probably only ever going to be used as a second tight end unless the Patriots adjusted their offense.

Why are people so quick to call Brady old, all done but no one says it about Brees? Brees has had much more fire power on offense than Brady has had since 07
— @jonathanplante3
Brees’ passer rating has increased every year since 2014 from 97 to 101, 101.7, 103.9, 115.7 and 116.3. Brady’s passer rating has decreased every year since 2016 from 112.2 to 102.8, 97.7 and 88.

IF McDaniels leaves, how do you feel about an O’Shea / Brown tandem as OC and WRs coach ? #MailDoug
— @sebbehn
I think there would be a slight dropoff, but ultimately I think the Patriots could carry on what they’ve been doing.

What was your favourite/least favourite part of covering the team this season?
— @jonothorpejazz
Least favorite part was the Antonio Brown saga.

Favorite part was probably how much fun the defense was having early in the season.

Who do you think will make the biggest leap next year out of the wide receiver group? #maildoug
— @JoeHallisey
That’s really tough between Sanu and Harry, but I think I’ll say Sanu.

You said a few times that you see the pats going back to the red uniforms once the Belichik-Brady era ends. Do you see them building a new stadium as well? So the Krafts can host a Super Bowl?
— @r_lopes12
Not for a while. I doubt that happens until some of those other stadiums built around the same time as Gillette wind up getting torn down. Robert Kraft paid for 100 percent of Gillette Stadium, so that’s another reason why it likely won’t be gone anytime soon. The Patriots make improvements to it every year, as well.

What is you’re favorite kind of soup? #MailDoug
— @RayRayoftheJK
I’m not a big soup guy, but probably French onion.

favorite starburst color
— @k_romano8
My favorite Starburst is the purple Starburst jelly bean. As far as the original four Starbursts go, red.