Ever since the Super Bowl, there's been a feverish race to place Tom Brady with a new team and town. And since Brady is entering his first free agency period of his 20-year career, it has given the rumor mill a surreal, tabloid quality.
If you blindly tossed a dart at a map of America, you'd likely hit a potential farm for the G.O.A.T. Reports have Brady playing in Oakland, Tennessee and Dallas, each article written with varying levels of logic. There's even a piece from CBSSports.com, culling comments from WEEI, former Patriots QB Scott Zolak and a tweet from NFL Network's Michael Giardi, all of whom have the New York Football Giants among Brady's most ardent suitors.
Spoke with a number of NFL people over the last 36 hours or so here in Indy. The initial reaction has been "there's no way Tom Brady is leaving New England," but as you dig deeper, execs/coaches/scouts see the Titans, Raiders and Giants as possible suitors.
— Michael Giardi (@MikeGiardi) February 26, 2020Also, a recent report from the Boston Herald asserts that the Patriots have not reached out to Brady regarding a new contract, and Brady's agent has said that he will pursue all avenues for his client, which also include the Chargers and Colts.
Even if we all agree the best place for Brady to be is where he's been for the last two decades, it's at least a guilty pleasure to join the fun, to project where Brady will land, particularly if Big Blue is a true possibility.
In terms of cash, the Giants have more than $73 million in cap space. And if the Raiders' alleged planned offer of two years, $60 million for Brady is the monetary baseline, then the G-Men got that part covered. And while Daniel Jones has flashed the skills of a franchise quarterback, he wouldn't, or he couldn't, possibly protest sitting behind Brady for a year or two. Just the knowledge and nearness to greatness could do wonders for Jones/
The real problems lie everywhere else.
First, it's hard to imagine Brady wanting to play at MetLife, which has the same, ornery weather as Gillette Stadium, without the comforts of his adoring fans and fabulous coach, Bill Belichick. The Giants are not a playoff team, as the Patriots are and have been for the last 20 years. If Brady has been defined by anything, even more than stats and spirals and sweet cheekbones, it's his maniacal desire to win football games. Absent that opportunity, there would have to be some personal pull for No. 12. But the only loose connection Brady would have to Big Blue is their new coach, Joe Judge, who ran special teams for the Pats last year, and is five years younger than Brady.
Second, the Giants would have to consider how they see the future. If they are to complete this reboot, then they need to do it with Jones under center. Even if Brady could drop generational wisdom on Jones, the second-year QB needs to play as much as he needs to learn. If Brady walked into MetLife, he would replace Jones as the alpha male on offense and would rob two years of his young prime, which are essential to his growth as an NFL quarterback and his growing bond with his wide receivers
Third, Brady could get old overnight. Some say he showed significant signs of decay last season. The Pats still went 12-4 but blew their last home game against the lowly Dolphins, which cost them a playoff bye and earned them a season-ending 60 minutes with Derrick Henry. You can blame the loss of all-world tight end Rob Gronkowski. You can blame a lack of depth at wide receiver, especially after Antonio Brown's flameout. You can even say their offensive line wasn't as rugged as usual.
But at some point the fingers point at Tom Brady, who turns 43 in August. The fact that he's been this good this long speaks to his uncanny discipline and devotion to his craft. Despite six Super Bowl rings, a supermodel wife and life on the red carpet, Brady still attacks his job with the hunger and wonder of a rookie.
Still, the cynics have some merit. Brady completed just 60.8% of his passes last year, his second-lowest rate since 2003. He threw for 4,057 yards and 24 touchdowns, both his lowest since 2006 (when starting all 16 regular season games).
Do the Giants really want to pin their future on a player at his 18th hole? Does Brady really want a rebuilding team for his final football destination? You could argue for several teams -- particularly the Chargers, Titans and Cowboys -- because they have playoff-ready rosters.
A bunch of teams and towns feel like a fit for Brady, at least a lot better than Big Blue. If the Giants make a hard push for him, it would run counter to everything they've done up to this point, shaving salary and getting younger, slowly grooming themselves into a solid team.
A play for Tom Brady would be just about getting a big name, not improving their overall game.
Follow Jason on Twitter @JasonKeidel.
