When people said that Tom Brady could potentially leave the New England Patriots this offseason, I'll be honest: I didn't believe it. I just thought it was a bunch of noise and that, eventually, Brady would re-sign with the Patriots and continue pushing toward winning a seventh Super Bowl title with the club.
But apparently, the whispers were true.
On Tuesday morning, Brady took to Twitter to post a heartfelt goodbye to New England, and while he didn't reveal where he was going, he made it pretty clear that he would not be playing for the Pats in 2020.
To say this is jarring does not even begin to describe it.
We are talking about arguably the greatest football player to ever live departing the franchise with which he has spent the first 20 years of his career.
So, is Tom Brady making the right decision?
Obviously, we won't really know for sure until we see a.) where he ends up, and b.) how things actually turn out when Brady takes the field for his new team next season, but man; it seems hard to grasp.
While I have a hard time believing that Brady will end up in a better situation, it's also entirely possible that the Patriots really didn't want him back. Not so much that they were willing to give him what he wanted, anyway.
Remember: rumors of bad blood between Brady and Bill Belichick have persisted for the past couple of years, and the fact that Belichick apparently told Brady in their phone conversation earlier this offseason that New England wasn't even willing to pay Brady as much as he made in 2019 is pretty telling if true, and at this point, I don't think we have any reason to doubt its validity.
Taking that into consideration, Brady may not have even had much of a choice. Of course; he could have taken a pay cut and re-signed with the Pats, but it was made abundantly clear a couple of months ago that the 42-year-old was tired of being underpaid and wanted to make up for it this offseason. Clearly, the Patriots did not want to oblige.
Egos definitely got in the way here, for both Brady and Belichick. Deep down, both guys know the best move would have been staying together, but there is certainly a whole “I'll show you” thing going on with all of this.
But regardless of where Brady goes and how he performs next season, nothing can detract from what he accomplished in his two decades in New England.
From the scrawny sixth-round pick to the GOAT, we will never forget the memories, even if Brady goes to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (or wherever) and falls flat on his face in 2020.
We can sit here all day and debate whether or not Brady's choice to leave the Pats is smart, but honestly, when all is said and done, it doesn't really matter.
Nothing that happens in 2020 or 2021 or whatever year can possibly erase what Brady did with the Patriots.
That's something that will never be forgotten, nor is it something that will likely ever be replicated.
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