What Tom Brady’s rivals are saying about his free agency decision
"It might look really good on the outside...but you know what you know in New England."
Everyone is talking about Tom Brady’s impending free agency, which will become official March 17 at 4 p.m. – even his biggest rivals.
Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes’ road to a ring included a regular-season victory over Brady and the Patriots, a year after Mahomes fell to the dynasty in the 2019 AFC Championship. He knows how to defeat the 20-year quarterback – but not where he’ll play next season.
“I have no idea, just like everyone else,” Mahomes told CBS Sports. “It’s hard to see him not being in a New England Patriots jersey but you never know. I’ll just kind of see when everyone else does.”
Panthers quarterback Cam Newton reportedly believes Brady will head to the west coast and join the Chargers. Former Chargers defensive end Shawne Merriman told TMZ Sports that Newton offered his prediction during Super Bowl week.
Rex Ryan, who fueled the Jets-Patriots rivalry while coaching New York from 2009-14, predicted Brady will stay with the Patriots.
Fifteen-year NFL quarterback Carson Palmer, who played for Cincinnati, Oakland, and Arizona from 2003-17, said Brady would explore free agency to find a team that offered “explosiveness” and a “good offensive line.”
“He’s gonna go somewhere where he’s surrounded with guys that he doesn’t have to throw digs and come-backs and post routes,” Palmer said on “Good Morning Football.”
“He can get the ball out quick. He needs talent around him at 42, going into 43.”
Brady’s rival in the NFL record books, Hall of Famer Kurt Warner, doesn’t think Brady leaving is a smart idea, especially if he wants to emulate The Patriot Way in other stadiums.
“It’s not always easy to change that culture and think it can be done overnight,” Warner told USA Today. “It’s hard to do that, to think you’re just gonna pick up where you left off in a system you’ve been in for 18 years.
“It’s a process everywhere you go. It might look really good on the outside…but you know what you know in New England.”
If Brady is set on leaving, Warner, who played for St. Louis, the New York Giants, and the Arizona Cardinals from 1998-2009, thinks he should “look at a team like the Titans.”
“They were right there last year, and they’ve got some pieces [Brady] can build off of.”
Kurt Warner: Titans are ‘best situation’ for Tom Brady in free agency https://t.co/66VUDTpaBn
— The Titans Wire (@TheTitansWire) February 28, 2020
Drew Brees, whose situation mirrors Brady’s slightly as he enters his 20th year in the league while about to hit free agency (and hopes to play until he’s 45), said “it would certainly be hard to see [Brady] in another jersey,” but both quarterbacks are “trying to win championships.”
“That guy devoted 20 years of his life and his career to Boston, [won] six championships, did something that’s unprecedented — so he deserves to be admired, respected and a tremendous amount of gratitude for those contributions and that sacrifice, regardless of what happens.”
Brees isn’t Brady’s only rival who is poised to become a free agent – Dak Prescott, Jameis Winston, Ryan Tannehill, Marcus Mariota and Philip Rivers will also explore the market when free agency officially begins, competing with Brady yet again.
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