Tom Brady Picking Between Chargers, Patriots, Buccaneers
Tom Brady is picking between the Los Angeles Chargers, New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. So far, none of those teams hold a clear advantage over the others in his mind.
On Wednesday afternoon, NFL free agency officially kicks off. Between now and then is the league’s “legal tampering period,” essentially the time frame during which organizations can make the moves necessary to acquire the players they want when free agency officially commences.
In a report on Monday, ESPN NFL insider Ian Rapoport revealed that the market for Brady pretty much centers around a trio of teams: LA, New England and Tampa Bay.
The tampering window has opened and #Patriots QB Tom Brady’s agent can hear from teams. My understanding: The #Chargers and #Bucs will inquire, and of course New England wants him back. That is Brady’s market as of right now.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 16, 2020
“The tampering window has opened and Patriots QB Tom Brady’s agent can hear from teams,” he tweeted out.
“My understanding: The Chargers and Bucs will inquire, and of course New England wants him back. That is Brady’s market as of right now.”
As recently as Monday morning the Buccaneers were listed by odds makers as the favorites to ultimately come away with Brady. How accurate that will ultimately be remains to be seen.
On paper, Tampa Bay’s interest makes a lot of sense. The franchise has $74 million in cap space to play with on an assortment of offensive pieces. That coupled with head coach Bruce Arians’ clear hatred for Jameis Winston creates the perfect storm for a possible Brady signing.
The Chargers make a lot of sense, too. The team parted ways with Philip Rivers earlier in the offseason and now has a hole at quarterback that figures to be filled by Tyrod Taylor if no one better comes along.
Finally, New England would seem like the most natural choice and the place where Brady has to be the favorite to win a championship.
One way or another, a final decision should come down in the next few weeks.
Related: Rams Preparing To Trade Todd Gurley To Buccaneers
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
