Does Tom Brady Want More Say in Patriots' Football Operations?
Tom Brady at age-42 has seen just about it all in his 20-year career in the NFL. Injuries, big plays, blunders, you name it. His wisdom has been coupled by his leadership over the years, which is one of the factors that has played into a consistently-good Patriots team over the past two decades. Brady's mentorship to some of the young or inexperienced players on the team has allowed maybe not the most talented, but some of the brighter individuals that play the game of football to thrive in New England.
During the 2019 season, Brady's leadership was reportedly ramped up among the confines of Gillette Stadium by spending "an incredible amount of time" with the young group of receivers he was working with, which included first round pick N'Keal Harry, and undrafted rookies Jakobi Meyers and Gunner Olszewski.
Why is this important to know? Well, according to one ESPN reporter: Tom Brady may only return to the Patriots next season if the team gives him more say in football operations.
On Sunday Jeff Darlington of ESPN was asked about what he felt the likelihood was that Brady returned to New England next season. Darlington suggested that while Brady feels liberated about being able to do things on his own terms now that he is becoming a free agent, returning to the Patriots on Brady's own terms might mean having more say in what happens with the team.
"I spoke with some people that are close to (Tom) Brady, and they did say, this is a guy that is going to do this on his own terms," Darlington said on ESPN's "SportsCenter" Sunday morning. "If he is going to return to the Patriots, it will be, in some capacity, on his own terms.
"Now what does that mean? It doesn't mean that Brady is going to be an authoritative figure, walking and stomping into Bill Belichick's office saying 'this is what has to happen,' but I do think it will need to be more collaborative than it has been in the past if Tom Brady is going to return to the Patriots."
Darlington also emphasized that the people that he spoke with told him that Brady has no intentions of retiring.
So what exactly does Brady want to have a say in, if at all? Personnel decisions? Game planning? Both? The 42 year old quarterback was visibly frustrated during the 2019 season at times because of the lack of help he had around him on offense. That is one of the reasons why he reportedly pushed for the team to trade for veteran receiver Mohamed Sanu before the trade deadline. Because of that, it would make sense for Brady to want to have say in personnel decisions. Ever since Rob Gronkowski's retirement, the team hasn't done their best at providing talented weapons for their QB to utilize.
As for game planning - one has to think that Brady already has, at the very least, a little bit of a say in that because of his wisdom from playing in the NFL for 20 years. Because of that, it doesn't seem like game planning would be a bargaining chip for Brady in contract negotiations.
If we are basing it off Brady's recent track record, which includes vouching for Mohamed Sanu, who did little to nothing since his arrival in New England outside of one 10-catch performance in November, then having a say in personnel decisions may not be something Bill Belichick wants his QB to dabble in. But if agreeing to it gets the future Hall of Fame quarterback to return to the Patriots at a cheaper price than the going-rate for QBs, Belichick would be stupid to not do it.
