Tom Brady and the New England Patriots haven’t yet sat down to discuss contract negotiations, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Schefter joined WEEI’s ‘The Greg Hill Show’ on Wednesday and elaborated on the situation.
“Not contractually. They haven’t had negotiations,” Schefter 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.”
Brady is hitting free agency for the first time in his career and there are teams interested in the 42 year old quarterback. Because of his short window left in the league, Brady will have to choose wisely and play for a team that’s ready to win right now.
When it comes to the report that New England is willing to pay Brady $30 million a year to stay, Schefter’s not believing it. “I don’t think they can do that, but OK let’s not let facts get in the way here,” he said.
There will be a sense of urgency with the situation and Schefter believes March 1 will be a date to look out for. The Patriots waited too long to make a decision with Rob Gronkowski last season and it left them with one of the worst tight end corps in the league.
“I am just saying if you’re New England, you need to get that answer,” Schefter said. “You can’t repeat at quarterback what happened at tight end last year. At tight end last year Rob Gronkowski announces the eve of the owners meetings in late March he’s retiring. We were two weeks into free agency at that point in time. There’s no other suitable alternatives on the free agent market at tight end and New England really never filled the position all year long. They did the best they could, but there’s nobody like that.”
It’s very possible the Patriots retain their legendary quarterback this offseason, but it’ll take a lot of work from both parties.
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