Patriots Negotiation With Tom Brady Takes Odd Turn
The Patriots’ negotiation with Tom Brady took an odd turn this week.
Brady, 42 is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason. That means he can sign with whoever he wants for next season and there is nothing New England can do about it.
So far, the Los Angeles Chargers, Miami Dolphins, Tennessee Titans and Las Vegas Raiders have been linked to Brady in various capacities.
Until he actually leaves the Patriots, though – that team has to be regarded as the favorite to retain him.
Oddly enough, Brady has not given much in the way of signals that he wants to remain with New England up to this point.
According to ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter, the two sides have reportedly not had any substantive conversations regarding Brady possibly returning to the fold.
“Not contractually — they haven’t had negotiations,” he said.
““They haven’t sat down to have the conversation they need to have — ‘Hey, what do you want to do?’ I am sure they are talking generally. Yeah, I am sure. They were at the Super Bowl on Sunday together.”
Schefter expects a resolution of some sort on this matter by March 1.
“Before we get to March 1, I think New England and Tom Brady will figure out if they’re going to stick together or move apart,” Schefter said recently.
“I think they have to do that. I think the Patriots need clarity about if they’re going to have their quarterback in place or whether they need to be making contingency plans to move on and to figure out what they’re going to do at the position.
“The position is just too important for them not to have that clarity early on,” he continued.
“Maybe it goes to March 7 or something. I’m not giving you a hard and fast deadline.”
If it turns out that Brady does depart, New England may have interest in signing Teddy Bridgewater to replace him.
Bridgewater served as the New Orleans Saints’ backup this pat year. When Drew Brees went out with injury, Bridgewater led New Orleans to a 5-0 mark in his absence.
If they weren’t facing a ridiculous situation where they had all three of their quarterbacks as unrestricted free agents, the Saints probably would not be willing to let him go.
One way or another, the Patriots quarterback situation will resolve itself. Whether that will happen with Brady or Bridgewater as the team’s starter in 2020 remains to be seen.
Related: Ron Rivera Reveals Redskins’ Biggest Weakness
A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
