There are a few obvious landing spots for Tom Brady, if the New England Patriots quarterback elects to leave in free agency. The Los Angeles Chargers and Indianapolis Colts, for example, make a lot of sense with cap space and offensive talent.
But ESPN’s Adam Schefter believes a few dark-horse candidates will emerge as free agency draws near.
“I believe that that will happen again. That is what I believe,” he said on WEEI’s “Greg Hill Show” on Thursday. “I believe there will be teams that have really not been at the forefront of the speculation, which is what this is, that will emerge and all of a sudden be potential landing spots for Tom Brady.”
What exactly is Brady looking for?
“Where is his family going to be happy, where is the TB12 brand going to grow, where does my family want to live, and what team has the type of supporting cast I feel I can compete with?” Schefter said.
The odd reality, however, might be that Brady is underwhelmed by his options outside New England.
“I don’t think there are the number of obvious, apparent openings for starting quarterbacks this offseason that there have been in other offseasons due to the influx of young quarterbacks that have entered the league in recent years,” he said. “That is No. 1. So, the supply almost exceeds the demand. Now, not every team is set there.
“No. 2, I will come back to this, whether it is Teddy Bridgewater, or Andy Dalton, or Drew Brees, or Philip Rivers or Jameis Winston, or you pick the quarterback and we could insert any name there, if you’re the New England Patriots, do you want to pay $18 (million), 20 (million), 25 (million), 30 million dollars to one of these guys, or do you want to go with Jarrett Stidham on a rookie contract and fill some of the other holes with the salary cap savings that you have, assuming Tom is not back?”
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