Tom Brady Is A Patriot No More

After 20 years in New England, Tom Brady announces that he'll finish his career elsewhere.

In a move that surprised me, Tom Brady has announced via Instagram that he will not be returning to the Patriots.

I know Brady has been a free agent for a while now, but I honestly thought it would just end up being a small blip on the radar screen that is his career. Get out there, test the waters a bit, but ultimately realize that he's forever a Patriot. As of about 9 am, Brady has officially cut ties with the organization with a long and thoughtful message.

Where does he end up?

Now the focus is on where Brady will play next year. Several teams are being mentioned more than others, such as the Indianapolis Colts, the Los Angeles Chargers, who have moved on from their veteran quarterback Philip Rivers, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Ironically enough, as of yesterday, New England was viewed as one of Brady's most likely destinations. With the Pats off the table, all of these other options are now even more realistic.

As of last night at about 11 pm, the Buccaneers were the favorite to land Brady.

Playing in Tampa actually does make a lot of sense for Brady. With a receiving duo of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, Brady would have two weapons at the same time that he's really never had in New England. Throw in an extremely athletic and versatile tight end like OJ Howard and you could see Brady spraying it all over the place.

I really don't understand the concept of Brady playing for the Chargers. There's no doubt that Brady is declining. He didn't look dynamic last year and is obviously battling Father Time. Replacing a 38-year old Philip Rivers with a 42-year old Tom Brady just doesn't make a lot of sense to me. The Chargers have a very talented roster, but I don't understand that move at all. Adding Brady wouldn't make them the favorite in the AFC, so to me, getting a young quarterback and starting the rebuild is the much more practical approach.

Wherever he ends up, Brady is the G.O.A.T. Brady has a 219-64 record in the regular season while winning 10 games or more in every year since 2001, except 2002 (9-7) and 2008 when he started 1-0 before tearing his ACL causing him to miss the rest of the year. He is 30-11 in the postseason with six Super Bowl titles. Brady ranks second all-time in passing yards (74,571) and second in passing touchdowns (541). Whoever gets him will get a shot of excitement and likely an upgrade at the position. What will it mean in the grand scheme of the NFL hierarchy? Where he ends up and how they deploy him and his weapons will determine that.