Tom Brady will make his 10th Super Bowl appearance and first as a Buccaneer when he faces the AFC Champion Kansas City Chiefs next Sunday at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. Though nothing Brady accomplishes on an NFL gridiron should ever surprise us—the man is allergic to losing—it’s still pretty remarkable that Touchdown Tom is headed back to the Super Bowl, in his first year with a new team, at age 43. No amount of computer sims or Madden cheat codes could ever have predicted this from a dad-running, sixth-round pick who showed up to the Combine looking like this.
It took a while for the novelty of Brady in a Bucs uniform to wear off (maybe it still hasn’t for some Patriots fans), but what if he had chosen another team in free agency? It’s unclear how close Indianapolis came in its pursuit of Brady, though owner Jim Irsay confirms the Colts were indeed interested in the future Hall-of-Famer last offseason.
“Definitely we looked at Tom and thought that would have been a great opportunity,” Irsay told Jim Ayello of the Indianapolis Star. “You have to throw all the charts out and the age thing with him. We’ll just have to make sure he was born on this planet when it’s all said and done, because he appears to be from another world with what he’s accomplished in his athletic career.”
Unable to coax Brady into joining the team he spent much of his career terrorizing (15-4 all-time record including the postseason), the Colts ultimately settled on another veteran, Philip Rivers, due to his longstanding relationship with Frank Reich, his former quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator in San Diego. Rivers retired following the Colts’ playoff loss to Buffalo earlier this month, finishing his career with 421 touchdowns and 63,440 passing yards, both of which rank fifth all-time.
“Frank really knew Philip well and they had worked together and there was such a great familiarity there, that it seemed to be a great fit for us," said Irsay. “There’s something to be said about going out the way he’s going out, gun-slinging and doing what he does, playing great football.”
Brady would have been a nice get for Indy, though obviously he preferred the opportunity presented in Tampa. Now it’s back to the drawing board for the Colts, who are headed for their fourth starting quarterback in as many years. Matthew Stafford and Deshaun Watson, both of whom are expected to be traded this offseason, could be of interest should the Colts choose to invest in a top-tier starter while this year’s class of incoming rookies is among the strongest we’ve seen with Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, Mac Jones and Kyle Trask all potentially first-round picks.
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