Tom Brady ‘Tracking’ Toward Leaving Patriots? Adam Schefter Explains

Tom Brady’s free agency even has Adam Schefter scratching his head.

The ESPN NFL insider explained Thursday on Mad Dog Sports Radio’s “Schein on Sports” with Adam Schein that he’s not sure where Brady will sign this offseason but that he believes things are “tracking” toward the veteran quarterback leaving the New England Patriots.

“Let me say this to you, I think that whether or not (Brady and Bill Belichick) spoke, (Tuesday) or last week, and what the tone was, frankly, I don’t need to hear any of that to deduce that it is now March 5. Free agency starts in less than two weeks,” Schefter said. “Tom Brady and the New England Patriots are no closer to a contract agreement today than they were at any point during the season or any time recently. So if the greatest quarterback and arguably the greatest player in NFL history is not any closer to a contract agreement with the team he’s played for for 20 years, I think we can all sense what way this is tracking.

“Which doesn’t mean they can’t figure it out at the last moment and somehow find a solution to bring him back to Foxboro and find a way to make it work. But again, I just compare and contrast what is going on with Tom Brady and what as opposed to what’s gone on with, say, Drew Brees, who comes out and says, ‘I am either retiring or playing for the Saints.’ Have we heard that? We have not heard that with Tom Brady. Right? At what point is it going to register with people who believe he’s going back there that there’s a real chance he’s not going back there. What more do we need to see — other than him actually agreeing to a deal with another team, which certainly seems like it’s on track to happen now.”

The Boston Herald’s Karen Guregian reported Wednesday that Brady spoke with Belichick for the first time this offseason Tuesday and that the conversation “didn’t go well.” According to NBC Sports Boston’s Tom E. Curran, the Patriots head coach approached the chat as if Brady was “still under contract,” operating in an “all business” manner.

Schefter heard differently, noting Thursday the sides spoke recently but that the conversation didn’t take place Tuesday and wasn’t contentious. Still, he’s not reading too much into that aspect of the situation, for there are a ton of variables involved in Brady’s final decision.

“I really believe, having spoken to a number of people connected to the situation, that there is not a favorite right now,” Schefter said. “I really believe that Tom is really open-minded to this process and he’s said as much to Jim Gray when he spoke to him in an interview — ‘I am open-minded to this process.’ Those were his words and I believe that is 100 percent accurate today.”

Schefter’s ESPN colleague, Jeff Darlington, reported earlier this week that eight teams were monitoring Brady, with four willing to sign the 42-year-old right now if they could. Darlington also said recently he’d be “stunned” if Brady returned to the Patriots.

Brady, of course, has spent his entire 20-year career with New England since being selected in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft, winning six Super Bowl titles and cementing himself as the greatest quarterback in league history.