Even Tom Brady’s Patriots Teammates Don’t Know If He’ll Return To New England

Just a few weeks remain until the start of NFL free agency, and it’s as unclear as ever whether Tom Brady will be back with the New England Patriots.

The legendary quarterback is set to hit the open market for the first time in his career when the new league year opens March 18, with the legal tampering period beginning two days prior.

A few Patriots — Julian Edelman and Kyle Van Noy (another impending free agent) among them — have weighed in on Brady’s future, though they don’t know for certain what his plan is moving forward. With that in mind, in their NFL Scouting Combine notebook, ESPN’s Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler wrote that Patriots players are “split” on the likelihood Brady stays or goes.

“Brady might not cost a fortune, either. Some teams are expecting $30 million per year max on a two-year or three-year deal at most,” they wrote. “He is going on 43, after all. And we’re told Patriots teammates are split on whether they feel he’ll be back.”

It seems Brady is making a concerted effort to keep his plans quiet, and he’s done a good job of it. Insiders also are split on what his next move will be, though one pointed out what would indicate he’s not returning to the Patriots.