Patriots Must Ignore Brady Rumors in Midst of Playoff Push
You never truly get over your ex ... Super Bowl-winning franchise quarterback, that is.
Living in the past has, frankly, defined this week in New England Patriots football: the team donned its famous red uniform, complete with the posing Pat Patriot helmet, popularized during its original Super Bowl run in 1985-86 during its Thursday night national showcase against Buffalo. That came in the wake of a rumor plucked from the turn of the century just over 24 hours before Thursday's kickoff: the thought that the Patriots were investigating the idea of adding some late-round quarterback named Tom Brady to their fold.
The Patriots need to do everything in their power to snuff out this rumor.
This being 2023 and not 2000, this Brady addition would come through free agency rather than the sixth round of the NFL Draft. Inching toward more retirements than Michael Jordan and Hugh Jackman in the Wolverine role combined, Brady appears to be finally playing his age as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers struggle while somehow still defying expectations placed upon a 45-year-old quarterback.
Honestly, from a pure football poetry standpoint, there'd be no better NFL exit than for Brady to win a Super Bowl no one expected him to, Tampa Bay (5-6) being the ongoing frontrunner of the dreary NFC South. But when has going in style ever been the TB12 method? Last sping's "will he or won't he" drama was played and dragged out as it was ... and that was before the idea of a New England reunion was floated.
It began with The Athletic's Jeff Howe innocently theorizing the landing spots of renowned, if not scrutinized, franchise quarterbacks set to hit the free agent and/or trade markets this coming spring. Any list like that will obviously feature Brady after last offseason's transactional game of chicken, even if his realistic destination on Sundays in 2023 should be the broadcast booth rather than the field.
Shortly after the report's release, Matt Light, a Patriots blocking anchor-turned-WEEI radio host, added fuel to the fire with his own thoughts on the matter that never eliminated the possibility, ensuring it'd make its way into the realm of the 24-hour sports news cycle, especially in the "embrace debate" era.
To his credit, Howe never suggested a de facto Brady farewell tour was imminent, more or less linking the parties through both his sources and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick's propensity to punt the predictable ("Just when you think you’ve got Belichick figured out, he does something no one sees coming," Howe writes). There are other juicy ideas suggested in his forecast ... i.e. Aaron Rodgers donning a new shade of green in New York ... but anything short of Peyton Manning joining Brady back on the NFL circuit would sound boring in comparison to the architect of the NFL's greatest dynasty returning to where it all began.
That's the exact type of hoopla the Patriots need to avoid.
Moving on from a franchise legend ... especially one like Brady, who redefined not only the face of a franchise but the victorious qualities of NFL quarterbacking in general ... is difficult. Break-ups like that are difficult, because one, namely the team in question, has a guaranteed future ahead. Brady can make all the goofy movie cameos and Subway ads he wants, he'll always have the yardage, scores, and hardware to silence any detractor.
For all their shortcomings in the post-Brady era ... dominance over the Buffalo Bills being one of the privileges lost upon his departure ... the Patriots are finally inching toward something resembling a solidified blueprint and path toward the future. Matthew Judon would be a bona fide MVP candidate if defenders were given the time of day by voters. A budding Derrick Henry clone capable of both aerial and ground antics resides in the backfield in Rhamondre Stevenson. The secondary is a hodgepodge of veteran contributors working with the next generation. There is a clear path forward for this franchise, one that worked its way away from Brady.
The Patriots have a strong path forward. Why should they change something up in the name of a Brady retirement tour that neither side is truly owed? The football world already observed the "Brady Returns to Foxboro" holiday in 2021 and it shockingly lived up to the hype. For the mere state of football bliss, the gridiron world should look to leave that behind.
To their credit, the Patriots have reportedly done what they could to snuff out the rumor. Mike Reiss of ESPN has hinted that the team has a "full commitment" to incumbent Mac Jones, the perfect leak with Brady set to potentially hit the market. It's a stark contrast to the early portions of the season where Jones faced legitimate competition from fourth-round rookie Bailey Zappe.
So management has done its part. Players like Judon, Stevenson, and other electrifying breakout characters like Kyle Dugger, Marcus Jones, and Deatrich Wise are here for the foreseeable future. When it comes to Belichick in tow, one has to assume that the team will at least be making the right on-field decisions. Whether that involves moving on from the offensive coordinator by the committee crew of Matt Patricia and Joe Judge remains to be seen, but those decisions shouldn't be made by a 45-year-old quarterback seeking the creative control hinted by Howe ("He’d have to know the offense is in capable hands," Howe writes, hinting that Brady could be interested in a reunion with Bill O'Brien).
Now it's up to Jones to live up to his end of the apparent bargain ... and things did not get off to a good start on Thursday night.
Mac Jones was far from the Patriots' sole issue in Thursday night's 24-10 loss to the Bills, but it wasn't exactly inspiring to see him follow up two inspiring personal performances with a thud back to Earth, complete with a clip that went viral for all the wrong reasons. The problems with the New England offense go far beyond Jones, but his struggles to capitalize on his first instance of consecutive triple-digit passer rating games of the season, (as well as a career-best in yardage on Thanksgiving that was lost in the midst of special teams shortcomings and perhaps a little help from friends in the striped shirts) is no doubt troubling.
It takes an army, especially in day and age, to quell a rumor. There's rarely an opportunity in the NFL to do that through on-field methods. With a postseason streak slipping through the Patriots' grip ... through means that, again, go far beyond Jones ... it's dangerously close to becoming all they have to play for.
There are enough remakes, reboots, and revivals across the pop culture landscape. For their own sake, the Patriots shouldn't join them.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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