Tom Brady’s list of suitors is starting to become more defined.
Barring a new deal with the New England Patriots prior to March 18, Brady soon will become a free agent for the first time in his storied career. While the 42-year-old is coming off one of his worst seasons in Foxboro, he’s still expected to be one of the more coveted players on the open market.
But just how robust is Brady’s pool of interested teams? While the Los Angeles Chargers, Tennessee Titans and Las Vegas Raiders all reportedly have some level of interest in the six-time Super Bowl champion, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reports there are two teams — both of which had ties to Brady in previous reports — that don’t have any plans to kick the tires on TB12.
“The Giants and Colts aren’t among those suitors,” Breer wrote in his latest Monday Morning Quarterback column. “You can cross them off the list. I was told pretty emphatically that neither will be in the mix if Brady does make it to free agency.”
Indianapolis, at least on paper, made sense for Brady. The Colts feature one of the league’s strongest offensive lines, an innovative, offense-minded head coach, a solid supporting cast and a young, talented defense. Indy is expected to be in the quarterback market, too, but the franchise’s top choice might be Philip Rivers.
As for the Giants, their previously reported interest didn’t make a ton of sense. Sure, Daniel Jones potentially could have benefited from learning under Brady for a season or two, but the No. 6 overall pick last year seemingly did enough in his rookie season to inspire optimism in the Meadowlands. The chance of Jones reaping the benefits from being teammates with Brady is matched by the risk of his growth being stunted.
So while their competition might not be as steep as we originally thought, it still won’t be a cakewalk for the Patriots to bring Brady back.
