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The market for free agent Tom Brady is shrinking rapidly. Gone are the Raiders, who agreed to sign Marcus Mariota this week to challenge Derek Carr for the starting job. Gone are the Titans, who inked Ryan Tannehill to an extension.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Chargers and Buccaneers are set to inquire about Brady, and then there’s always the Patriots. That’s … it.
While it seems flabbergasting that there aren’t teams lining up to sign him right now, look at it this way: He’s a 43-year-old veteran coming off his worst season as a pro. He likes running a specific offense his way. He’s got a strength/fitness guru who has needs that have to be met by the organization.
It’s all … a lot. And he’s not going to come cheap.
Bill Belichick has always operated in the same way running the Patriots. He studies the league, he assesses value, and he puts a number on that value. If you want to sign for a number he thinks is representative of your value, you’ll be on the Patriots. If you want more than that, you’re likely going to be playing somewhere else.
For nearly two decades, Brady was so valuable the Patriots were happy to pay him a big number. Now that he isn’t, I don’t think Belichick is going to change his philosophy for nostalgia purposes.
I don’t think it’s personal, or some weird “Belichick wants to prove he can do it without Brady” thing. I think it’s the opposite of personal. I think he’s got a number the Patriots are willing to pay Brady, and it might not be what Brady wants.
Which puts Brady in a hard place. If the Patriots have a number he doesn’t like, can he convince the Chargers or Bucs to get to a number he does? Can they play the system he wants to play? Can they win? Brady isn’t dumb — he doesn’t want to tarnish his legacy by going and losing ten games next season.
In Brady’s perfect world, one of those two teams drive the price up, the Patriots come back and raise their number, and they go and get the band back together for one more run. But I don’t think the Patriots are going to operate that way. They’ve probably got their number. Brady can either play for it, or hope for the best with someone else.
Tuesday’s Big Winner: The Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals traded away David Johnson and his onerous contract to the Texans and … got arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL back? We’re confused. Everyone is confused. JJ Watt was confused. The trade was so bad that the Madden video game rejected it. My colleague Steven Ruiz graded the deal and got angry and confused but mostly angry.
Quick Hits: Penguins, WrestleMania 36, and more
– The Shedd Aquarium in Chicago had to close down due to coronavirus, so they opened the place up for the penguins to roam free. It is everything you could have wanted.
– WrestleMania 36 has been moved from Tampa, and will now take place behind closed doors at the WWE training facility. Fans had jokes.
– Donovan Mitchell opened up on his coronavirus diagnosis, and how it took some time for him to forgive Rudy Gobert.