The Brady Watch.
It's been a long slug. Thank God the weather has been mild. Can you imagine how miserable this all would have been in the throes of a typical New England winter? I digress… As I mentioned, it's been a long slug with months of daily opinion changes but no actual change to speak of. When asked over the course of the last three months, my answers are about as consistent as a lie detector test for an international double agent.
My standard line at the outset was… "33 percent chance he retires, 33 percent chance he returns and 33 percent chance he leaves." After the close of the season in early January my response was more like… "They are each other's best option (Brady and Belichick), he should stay." At the end of January? "50 / 50 at best." February was too schizophrenic to recall. Lately (like up until I wrote this), I've been leaning heavily towards him leaving, based on several recent reports and rumors of both the local and national variety. Then, I read between the lines of a recent article and saw something; an actual path for a Brady return to the Pats.
The Patriots insider I have trusted the most since the Drew Bledsoe days is Tom E. Curran. He's well connected, well respected, well sourced, well informed and he rounds up his points and observations with intelligence, credibility and humor. It's been that way since his appearances on the long gone but never forgotten "Big Show" right here at WEEI. However, it wasn't what he reported in his recent March 7 column that helped shape this idea. It was rather something that simply occurred to me after reading into a couple of things Patriots owner Robert Kraft was reported to have said.
The gist of Curran's piece clearly stated that Kraft will not intervene to ensure Brady stays with the Patriots. It echoes what Curran has been saying consistently in his weekly radio and television appearances since The Brady Watch saga began. No surprise there.
What caught my attention came later in the piece, when it was reported that Kraft firmly dispelled the long rumored notion that he did in fact interfere in the Patriots football operation during the fall of 2017. It has been long believed, that it was Kraft's executive order that forced Belichick's hand to trade his chosen successor, Jimmy Garoppolo. According to Curran's report, Kraft doubled down on his denial of ever forcing his will in that transaction. Firm denial saying, "It's a lie."
This is where my recent aha moment occurred. Stay with me here…
Kraft reportedly has been pretty adamant on this. If it's true that Kraft actually didn't force Belichick's hand back in 2017, then the abrupt Garoppolo trade for a mere second-round pick looks bad solely on Belichick. That's part one. Kraft removing himself from that transaction means, that sole responsibility and accountability of that deal falls squarely on Belichick. Part two. According to Curran's March 7 report, "Kraft will not overstep to make sure Brady stays with the Patriots." With Kraft publicly declaring his lack of involvement, stepping aside in both of these major Patriots roster events, it publicly puts all of the responsibility on the man who runs the Patriots football operation, Belichick.
Is Kraft suddenly setting up his top general for failure? His name besmirched forever for losing the best quarterback of all time as well as his hand chosen successor? This is the man who is most responsible for all Kraft's success as an NFL owner. It makes no sense does it? Kraft has worked closely with Belichick for a really long time and I'm quite sure, knows that wouldn't sit very well. Unless there is something nefarious afoot, I just cannot believe he would hang his top chief out to dry.
Which leads me to this… Kraft could be setting up his top chief to actually get all the credit if Brady returns. Think about it. If he's hanging the Garoppolo trade squarely on Belichick's shoulders, yet plans to keep the man who created it all, here in Foxboro, then Kraft owes him one. Otherwise, Belichick stands to lose very publicly in both instances. What better prize than being known squarely as the man who not only found, but groomed, nurtured, kept and kept again – the greatest of all time, Tom Brady.
It's been said many many many times that Kraft is a smart and savvy businessman, a notion that I too firmly believe. What could be smarter than artfully bringing his two most precious assets together, while claiming to not be involved? Just step aside and let it happen. It sounds like pure genius to me, the kind of decision only a smart businessman makes. The type you have to read between the lines to see.
