Tom Brady Drops the Bomb; What's Next?

It looks like the end of an era in New England

Tom Brady tweeted "Forever a Patriot."

That might be true when the history books are written but the aging quarterback is taking his talents elsewhere for the 2020 NFL season, ending a incomparable two-decade run with Bill Belichick that turned the New England Patriots from just another franchise to the franchise in the league.

Six Super Bowl championships, 17 postseason appearances and 17 AFC East titles in 19 seasons, you could set your watch to the consistency in Foxborough where 10-win seasons became a birthright for a generation of spoiled fans.

Part of the reason for the unprecedented success in the free-agency era was Belichick's hard-line approach that essentially boiled down to the sentiment that it's better to give up on a player a year early, than a year late. But, even "the player?"

Set to turn 43 in August, Brady has fought off "Father Time" better than most but the decline has started and New England wasn't necessarily receptive to paying the superstar on past performance, though Robert Kraft probably should have stepped in and made the exception.

Rumors swirled at the combine that Brady was earmarked for Tennessee and that the Las Vegas Raiders might be interested, but those narrative were Don Yee (Brady's agent) driven. The one organization that did step up was Tampa Bay with veteran coach Bruce Arians intent on moving away from the mistake-prone Jameis Winston.

The other option could be the Los Angeles Chargers, who are set to move into their new multi-billion stadium in Southern California as the second fiddle behind the Los Angeles Rams. 

Brady also recently opened a production company, named 199 Productions, a nod to his spot in the 2000 draft and the chip on his shoulder that spawned his legendary competitiveness.

From a purely football perspective, though, a 43-year-old QB - even the best of all-time - starting over in a new city with a new coach and a new organization makes little sense.

Saying that to Brady, however, may be all he needs to prove the doubters wrong one last time.