Nobody knows whether Tom Brady will decide to return to the New England Patriots in 2020. But one former Patriot thinks the team would ābe fineā moving on from Brady.
Former linebacker Ted Johnson said Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and owner Robert Kraft will not push the envelope if they feel Brady does not give the team the best chance to win next season.
Johnson even hinted Belichick would welcome Brady's departure because leaving the Patriots might ultimately be seen as a mistake (via Justin Leger of NBC Sports Boston):
āI think the Krafts and I think Bill Belichick would be totally fine with Tom going to Tampa,ā said on āEarly Edition,ā as transcribed by NBC Sports Boston. āYou know why? Because I think Bill thinks Tom isnāt going to win there. Theyāre not going to be successful. Itās just an inherently bad franchise. Tom going there is not going to all of a sudden turn around their fortunes. āSo, I feel like this is getting personal. So Iām basically saying that Bill Belichick wants to see Tom Brady fail. He might, so I wouldnāt be surprised if there would be a part of him thatās like, āYeah, go ahead, Tom. Go to Tampa.'ā
There are increasing signs Brady will don a different uniform for the first time in his career in 2020.
The longtime Patriots signal-caller reportedly had an unproductive phone conversation with Belichick earlier in March, and Rick Stroud of theĀ Tampa Bay TimesĀ recently reported the Buccaneers are āall-inā on signing Brady.
Regardless, Brady's decision is sure to have a domino effect on the rest of NFL free agency.
