Tom Brady will face the most important question of his NFL career this offseason: re-sign with the New England Patriots or pursue a new challenge elsewhere.
Joe Montana believes he should stay put.
Montana, who was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs after winning four Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers in the 1980s, shared some honest advice for Brady during a conversation with NFL Media’s Mike Silver.
“Don’t (leave) — if you don’t have to,” Montana said. “It’s a process to go through, and it takes time to get used to the team. I was fortunate because (former 49ers quarterbacks coach) Paul Hackett was (in Kansas City) running the offense, and so I was pretty familiar with probably three-quarters of the offense going in. And, if they let him have his own offense (with a new team), yeah, that makes it a little bit easier. But still, the transition of moving … I just can’t see how they would let him leave there, myself.”
Montana, whom Brady idolized as a young Niners fan, was 36 when he was traded to KC. Brady will be 43 when the 2020 season begins. He’s spent his entire 20-year NFL career with the Patriots, winning six Super Bowls and playing in three others.
“It’s not easy to go to another team and get accepted, no matter how much success you’ve had and how many years you’ve played,” Montana told Silver. “They still want to see you come in and be the same player and be that loyal to them as you were to the other team you just left. So, it’s not easy (for) guys looking at that change, especially at the quarterback position.”
Brady is set to hit free agency for the first time in his career when the NFL new league year opens March 18.
