Tom Brady hasn’t been himself.
The New England Patriots quarterback hasn’t played well on the field in 2019, with the exception of beating up on bad teams like the Washington Redskins. He hasn’t been happy off the field either. Even after a 17-10 win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Brady, who often calls himself “a positive person,” was short with the media. He didn’t seem to want to talk, not even in jest about the fact that Julian Edelman threw the Patriots’ only passing touchdown.
“We needed it,” Brady said, looking exhausted on Sunday after a game when he got hit six times.
It felt like a depressing realization: New England needed a trick play just to score a passing touchdown. Brady couldn’t do it himself. And the Patriots quarterback has done it himself for many years. At the outset of his career, he was heavily reliant upon Bill Belichick’s defenses. (Remember the “BRADY IS A GAME MANAGER” takes?) But then the Patriots quarterback began to establish himself as one of the NFL’s finest and, eventually, the greatest signal-caller in league history. As Brady shaped his career, he and Belichick beat teams as a one-two punch, even while Brady occasionally put the passing offense on his back — generally with help from tight end Rob Gronkowski. This year feels different. Brady is collapsing under the weight off his shoddy offense. Gronk isn’t around to help.
“The strength of our team is our defense and our special teams,” Brady said during an interview with WEEI on “The Greg Hill Show” on Monday. “On offense we just have to take advantage when we get opportunities and understand where our strengths lie and try and play to them — not giving any short fields, not turning the ball over and try and take advantage when we get into the red area to score touchdowns.”
A brief interlude: Let’s not totally count out New England’s offense. It always seems to figure things out, and with Gronk not around to be a difference-maker, it may simply be finding that it takes more creativity and in-house development to get the act together this year. The Patriots’ offense has some upside, with the late additions of receivers Mohamed Sanu (trade) and 2019 first-round pick N’Keal Harry (coming off IR), tight end Matt LaCosse (injury) and left tackle Isaiah Wynn (IR). But Brady knows how far the offense needs to go to win a Super Bowl, and he’s obviously afraid it’s a marathon that this cast can’t finish with him. If the offense looks like a mess deeper into the season, Brady will be held responsible, even though he couldn’t control the departures of Demaryius Thomas, Antonio Brown and Josh Gordon.
All of it adds a layer of intrigue to the NFL’s weirdest mystery: Where will Tom Brady play next season? It’s hard for anyone to envision him in anything besides a Patriots uniform, but the evidence of a potential breakup is mounting:
- On Aug. 5, Brady signed a deal that included two void years past 2019. In other words, he and the Patriots agreed to a deal that makes Brady a free agent after this season.
- Then, a few days later, he put his home up for sale. Yes, Brady can purchase another, smaller (or bigger) home in the area. “It’s a good time to sell,” he said on WEEI sports radio last month. But considering his contract situation, it was a timely coincidence, at least.
- Brady has tried to downplay talk of a move — without outright coming out and saying he plans to play for the Patriots next year. He has said “this is where I want to be,” though he seemed to be referring to the present while avoiding conversations of the future. And because Brady keeps leaving the door open for an exit in 2020, the speculation about his future has raged.
- Given all that, it’s natural for fans — and media — to be trying to read into his unusually downtrodden recent interviews.
Brady is an accessory to Belichick’s defense for the first time since the early 2000s. And the timing couldn’t be worse for the quarterback, who is slated to enter free agency during the 2020 offseason. During training camp, Brady admitted he was entering uncharted territory with his contract. His future is uncertain. This offseason, he may experience his first round of free agency.
It’s likely he returns to the Patriots. Considering Brady and Patriots owner Robert Kraft have a strong bond, they both probably want to ensure the quarterback finishes his storied career with the Patriots. But Belichick is a wildcard — he always has been. If the coach thinks he needs to move on from a player, Belichick will do it — even if it irks the owner and the fanbase. Can he do the same with Brady, the one Patriot who has been off limits from Belichick’s ruthlessness?
If Brady wants to stay, he’ll need to negotiate a new deal. While the offense is still third in points per game (28.7), Brady seems to know what’s coming next. They’ve got tough matchups in the coming weeks, and he’s likely to have more ugly games, like he did in Buffalo in Week 4 (46 completion %, 150 passing yards, one interception) and like he did in Week 11 (55 completion %, 216 yards). His completion percentage (63.7) is the lowest it has been since 2013. Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, meanwhile, is completing an absurd 72.3% of his passes. Belichick will probably bring up these talking points when he and Brady address a new deal. Brady has never asked for a huge deal, but he has always asked for something respectable. After this season, Belichick and Brady may not see eye to eye on a what qualifies as a respectable deal.
If Brady ends up leaving, he will want to find the best possible landing spot. And a 43-year-old Brady would love a situation similar to what Peyton Manning had with the 2012 Broncos — while avoiding a landing spot like Brett Favre’s 2008 Jets.
So while it’s odd to see Brady sulking after a win, it’s understandable that he’s got a lot on his mind. Maybe he’s afraid Belichick is going to give him the same old-yeller treatment that the coach applied to Lawyer Milloy, Richard Seymour, Wes Welker, Randy Moss, Mike Vrabel, Logan Mankins and so many others. After Belichick traded Jamie Collins to the Browns in 2016, Brady admitted he could be the next to go.
“You can’t be around this long and not realize that the world will keep spinning and the sun will come up tomorrow without you,” he told reporters in 2016, via NESN’s Doug Kyed. “That’s just the way it goes. I think you enjoy the experiences that you have and also understand it just keeps going on. It could happen to anybody.”
Now it feels more real. Brady wants to ensure the much-talked-about battle, “Tom vs. Time,” doesn’t end with Time delivering a final-round knockout. The question at this point is whether a frustrated Brady feels like Belichick, by failing to provide his offense the necessary weapons, has aided Time in the fight.
[vertical-gallery id=872019]