One could argue staying put would have been the smartest move for Tom Brady this offseason.
The Patriots had been the only franchise Brady knew for 20 seasons, and the institutional knowledge he had amassed in New England was invaluable. Furthermore, the AFC East is a very winnable division and it never hurts to have the greatest coach in the history of the sport on your side.
So, why then did Brady choose to leave? His new head coach has an idea.
“For me, it was probably a challenge, a new beginning,” Bruce Arians said Tuesday on ESPN. “Obviously, we have some pretty good weapons. We’ve been a pretty good offensive football team. We needed to have a leader, and that’s what excited me the most — was have a leader come in here who the guys know is a winner and has done it, and they’ll follow him.”
Joining a new team for the first time in his career will be a stiff challenge for the 42-year-old, and it will be made tougher by reasons out of his control. But knowing the type of competitive drive Brady has, he’ll likely be as motivated as ever to put together a strong 2020 campaign.
