The Patriots’ offseason has involved a steady stream of departures. None, of course, bigger than Tom Brady’s exit after 20 seasons in New England.
The six-time Super Bowl champion took his talents to Tampa Bay, where he’ll join an upstart Buccaneers offense loaded with weapons. At the same time, the Patriots seem poised to hand the keys to second-year quarterback Jarrett Stidham, with journeyman Brian Hoyer potentially competing for New England’s starting job in camp.
“You never want to count them out, but it looks pretty grim now,” an NFL executive recently said of New England’s offseason turnover, per The Athletic’s Mike Sando. “People liked Stidham coming out, so that will be interesting. I would think they are filling the roles they need on defense and they know the quarterback is going to make the offense go and they are not going to force it. They are not going to hamstring themselves with some player they do not love that they have to commit to. They would rather just be flexible with it, which is actually a similar approach to the one Miami is taking.”
Kyle Van Noy, Jamie Collins, Elandon Roberts, Danny Shelton and Ted Karras are among those who joined Brady in leaving New England this offseason. It remains to be seen what impact those departures have on the Patriots, who went 12-4 during the regular season in 2019 thanks in large to their defensive dominance. Still, Bill Belichick certainly has his work cut out for him while trying to uphold the organization’s recent tradition of excellence.
