Brett Favre sees ‘little decline, if any’ in Tom Brady’s game

“The question of if he goes to another team … will the play calling be somewhat familiar with what he’s used to?”

Brett Favre stayed optimistic about the prospects for New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who is scheduled to enter free agency in March. Favre believed Brady, who had one of the worst statistical seasons of his career, will have a lot of power as he decides where he wants to play next.

“I think with Tom, he’s really in a great spot. If he wants to play, you know, I’m sure New England would take him back in a heartbeat and pay him whatever,” Favre said on Sirius XM in a recent interview. “And if he wants to go play somewhere else and just see, just test the waters and see what it is like to play for someone else, maybe lead another team to a championship, he has that right.”

Favre’s suggestion that the Patriots would sign Brady at any price is misguided. Bill Belichick is notoriously frugal in free agency, and isn’t likely to allow Brady to name his price. To the contrary, Belichick has always been a tough negotiator. If Brady is to return to the Patriots, Belichick will probably find a way to twist Brady’s arm and force him into a less-than-desirable deal.

But Brady has some power. He has a clause in his contract which prevents the Patriots from placing the franchise tag on him. The clause creates greater flexibility for the offseason. If he wants to play elsewhere, nothing can stop him. And Favre thinks Brady should have no shortage of suitors.

“I see, really, little decline, if any, in his game. I think he certainly needs some help. And I don’t care who was quarterbacking that team, they would need a little help,” Favre said.

With Brady, however, there are a few snags.

“So he’s got to sit there and think: Do I want to play? Can I play? I think the question, ‘Can I play?’ can easily be answered. I think he can still play. And the question of if he goes to another team can they protect him and will the play calling be somewhat familiar with what he’s used to? Because that’s another element,” Favre said. “He’s been in the same offense for 20 years and to learn a foreign language overnight is pretty difficult to do, not to mention do you really want to go through that?”

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