Tom Brady just delivered a haymaker, winning a Super Bowl title in his first season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after leaving the New England Patriots.
Now, it’s time for Bill Belichick to answer.
The Patriots have significant roster shortcomings, most notably at quarterback, but a ton of salary cap space and draft capital to address their needs over the next several months.
As such, ESPN NFL insider Dan Graziano believes New England is the “most interesting team” of the NFL offseason.
“We saw what Tom Brady is capable of doing without Bill Belichick; now we need to see what Belichick is capable of doing without Brady,” Graziano wrote in a piece published Wednesday on ESPN.com. “Belichick has spoken publicly about the extent to which the team was hamstrung financially in 2020, but those excuses are out the window as of now. Can he find a quarterback and rebuild his dynasty without Tom?”
There figures to be no shortage of drama around the league this offseason, largely because there’s so much quarterback uncertainty.
Matthew Stafford already has been traded from the Detroit Lions to the Los Angeles Rams for a package including fellow signal-caller Jared Goff, and Deshaun Watson, Carson Wentz, Derek Carr and Sam Darnold, among others, continue to be mentioned in trade speculation.
The Patriots presumably are in the market for a quarterback, with only Jarrett Stidham and Jake Dolegala on their QB depth chart as Cam Newton enters free agency.
That alone makes New England a fascinating team to watch, even before factoring in Brady’s success in Tampa Bay, which can’t be sitting well with Belichick right now.
