Have we seen the last of Tom Brady as a member of the Patriots?
Two-time Pro Bowl selection Greg Jennings doesn’t believe so.
Brady in a few months will become a free agent for the first time in his NFL career. While the six-time Super Bowl champion noted after the Patriots’ season-ending loss Saturday that it’s “pretty unlikely” he’ll retire this offseason, it’s far from a guarantee he’ll return to New England. After all, Brady will turn 43 in early August, and he effectively was a shell of himself for the majority of the 2019 campaign.
But as Jennings noted Monday on FS1’s “First Things First,” the Patriots might not have a better option at present than re-signing the future Hall of Famer.
“… I do believe he will be back in a Patriots uniform next year,” Jennings said. “I don’t think this is the last time we will see him in that uniform, and there’s a lot of reasons I feel that way. The No 1 reason is when we’ve seen over the course of NFL history quarterbacks that have made statements like this, that have had unbelievable careers, they’ve always had a successor plan. Joe Montana, Steve Young, Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck, Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers. There has always been a plan right in place. They (Patriots) had one for a while and they let him go. So when you look at their current roster and configuration, they don’t have that. When you look at where they always have to pick in the draft, they’re not guaranteed to get that. With that being said, Tom Brady is their only option at quarterback.
“I just don’t see him going outside of the relationship with (Bill) Belichick somewhere else because he means so much to that organization and there is no plan in place to take the torch and run with it.”
"I do believe Tom Brady will be back in a Patriots uniform next year. … When QBs have had unbelievable careers, the've always had a successor plan — Joe Montana, Steve Young, Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck, Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers. The Patriots don't have that." — @GregJennings pic.twitter.com/R5fzYd3i32
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) January 6, 2020
Should New England elect to bring back Brady for a 21st season, it’s safe to say the team will need to do some roster remodeling if it hopes to legitimately contend for a Super Bowl title. Just ask Randy Moss, who implored his former team to surround Brady with the weapons he needs.
