With the future of Tom Brady with the New England Patriots up in the air, here are three reasons why Brady won’t end up leaving the Patriots in 2020.
For over 20 years, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots have been a match made in heaven. With the veteran quarterback finishing up his 20th season in the NFL and with the Patriots in 2019 after he was drafted in the sixth round back in 2000, Brady and New England have experienced what has seemed like endless success over the last two decades.
With the future Hall-of-Fame quarterback recording historical career accolades and statistics, Brady has led the Patriots to 17 AFC East titles and six Super Bowl titles in his time in the league thus far.
This offseason, however, rumors have started to ignite surrounding Brady and New England and the pair’s future together with Brady — who will turn 43 years old in August — hitting the free agency market for the first time in his lengthy NFL career.
Brady will be able to explore the idea of picking where he wants to play his 21st season in the league and possibly beyond during the offseason for basically the first time since he chose to commit to Michigan to play college football prior to breaking into the NFL.
After a year of frustration in 2019, one that ended in the Patriots heading home early in the postseason the earliest they have since the 2009 campaign, there are a few reasons to understand why Brady might not want to return to the only NFL organization he’s played for during the 2020 season.
If the veteran quarterback were to explore the idea of taking his talents elsewhere this offseason, there are likely a good amount of teams around the league that would be more than welcoming to have Brady lead their team under center this upcoming year, while Brady might also find that he could have a better chance to add at least one more Super Bowl title to his resume before he retires.
With the future of Brady in New England up in the air for really the first time ever, it’s still hard to see and imagine him taking the field in a different uniform both this season and beyond.
Before the future Hall-of-Famer does decide where he wants to play in 2020, let’s dive into three reasons why he won’t end up going anywhere and will appear back in the Patriots’ red, white and blue uniform this year.
3. Robert Kraft’s determination to keep Brady
Ever since Tom Brady broke into the NFL in 2000 and started to lead the New England Patriots into creating a dynasty filled with multiple Super Bowl victories, there have been few relationships between a player and owner quite like the one Brady has established with Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
Throughout the quarterback’s 20-year NFL career up to this point, Brady and Kraft have had a good relationship both on and off the field, while the owner has consistently been willing to do whatever it takes to provide Brady and the rest of the team with the tools to succeed and continue to be one of the top teams in the league.
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Time and time again, Kraft has helped persuade moves by the organization to surround Brady with the necessary tools to have success and remain a Super Bowl favorite annually, while trying to squeeze every ounce out of the future Hall of Fame quarterback before he ultimately ends his time in New England.
The first reason that Brady would want to stay with the Patriots in 2020 and possibly beyond is due to the simple reason that Kraft has and continues to be determined to putting a high-caliber team on the field alongside Brady in New England. That determination isn’t something you see out of every owner throughout the league.
Following the Patriots’ loss in the AFC Wild Card Round this postseason, questions surrounding Brady’s future in New England took off right away. That resulted in Kraft coming out publicly in support of Brady and stating he would like to see the quarterback return in 2020.
"“My hope and prayer is No. 1 (Brady) play for the Patriots. Or No. 2, he retires,” Kraft told Pro Football Talk. “He has the freedom to decide what he wants to do and that’s in his own personal interest. “I just hope and believe that Tom … he is so special that he’s earned the right to do what’s best for him. … But I just hope and pray we fit into his plans.”"
There’s no question that Kraft and the Patriots would like to have Brady back for the 2020 season to try and make another run at a Super Bowl this upcoming year.
And one of the reasons why Brady won’t go anywhere for the remainder of his career is due to the rare endless commitment of his team’s owner to provide him with the tools to thrive and his determination to continue to succeed on the football field.
2. Patriots have the ability to make moves to improve
Often times in recent years, we have seen the New England Patriots go out and explore various options both in the trade market, in free agency and through the NFL Draft to help improve their team ahead of a new season.
This offseason, however, New England might have to put a little extra focus into improving its squad to help entice Tom Brady to return to the Patriots in 2020 and beyond. Mainly, New England is going to have to work on shoring up a few areas on offense to pair with its dominant defensive unit.
The good news for both Brady and the Patriots is that they have been one of the teams, if not the top team, in being able to attract players to want to come play for them in the past and will continue to be one of those teams going into 2020. Especially if Brady remains on the squad.
The other good news for Brady and New England is that the Patriots will likely have the ability and salary cap room to explore adding a few playmakers on the offensive side of the ball to help give Brady a few more options in the passing game and among the offensive unit in general.
That reason is one of the things that might ultimately end up persuading Brady enough to agree to remain in New England as he hits the free agency market this offseason.
According to Spotrac.com, the Patriots are currently sitting with an active salary cap total of roughly $154.5 million, which ranks 23rd in the NFL. That leaves them with a little over $42 million in cap space available to use up this offseason, which is the 17th-most in the league.
If New England is able to retain Brady, that number will obviously take a hit and will leave the organization with a little bit less room to work with, but the Patriots will still have some flexibility to make some moves ahead of the 2020 campaign.
Don’t be surprised if New England goes out and tries to acquire a playmaker or two on the offensive side of the ball to help convince Brady that he indeed does want to return to the Patriots this season and for a remainder of his historic NFL career.
1. Wanting to finish his legendary career in New England
It would be incredibly weird to see and hard to imagine Tom Brady taking the football field in the NFL with a team other than the New England Patriots.
Ever since he took the league over by storm about two decades ago when he replaced quarterback Drew Bledsoe under center in New England, there have been few quarterbacks in league history that have been able to find the amount of success that Brady has.
A lot of that success is due to the amount of talent he has had around him with the Patriots and the organization’s willingness to help provide the quarterback with the tools to try and help lead them to yet another league title.
With Brady set to hit free agency for the first time in his professional career this offseason while having the ability to move on from the only organization he has ever played for, the final reason why he ultimately won’t end up going anywhere both in 2020 and for the rest of his career might be due to the fact that Brady might not want to wrap up his legendary career anywhere other than in New England.
The Patriots do have some work to do, mainly on offense surrounding Brady within the offensive group, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t be in a position or won’t have the willingness to go out and try and acquire some talent this offseason while also attracting their franchise and veteran quarterback to returning to the team.
There are many reasons to believe why Brady would want to return to New England in 2020 and for the remainder of his time in the NFL, and part of that would be to attempt to continue to build onto his legendary career that he has put together while representing the Patriots.