After 20 seasons with the Patriots, 42-year-old quarterback Tom Brady is set to become a free agent in March. So what’s next for the six-time Super Bowl champion?
Will he retire? Will he re-sign with the Patriots? Perhaps he’ll land with the Chargers — or maybe with the Browns?
Will the Broncos be among Brady’s potential suitors? Oddsmakers seem to think that’s possible, giving Denver 12-to-1 odds of signing Brady. Former ESPN senior writer John Clayton recently wrote in a Washington Post article that the Broncos and Brady would be a logical match.
Clayton referenced when general manager John Elway signed an aging Peyton Manning in 2012 and Denver went on to reach two Super Bowls, winning one of them. Manning was turning 36 when he signed with the Broncos, though, nearly eight years younger than Brady is now.
So the Manning comparison isn’t really fair.
And Elway signed Manning because he didn’t believe Denver had a quarterback of the future on the roster. Elway has Drew Lock now and it doesn’t sound like he’s going to look for alternative options this offseason.
“We’re excited about where Drew is,” Elway said during his end-of-season press conference on Dec. 31. “[I] don’t like to show our hand, but I think it’s unrealistic to say that we’re going a different direction.”
The Broncos may bring in a veteran this offseason to serve as Lock’s backup but Brady won’t be interested in a backup job. If he leaves New England, Brady will likely join a team in need of a new starter.
Elway tried short-term fixes with Case Keenum and Joe Flacco and neither of them worked out. Brady would be another temporary solution and it’s hard to imagine Elway benching Lock for a QB nearing the end of his career.
With Lock poised to start in 2020, don’t expect Denver to go after Brady.
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