Why should Tom Brady be happy with the New England Patriots?
![HOUSTON, TX - DECEMBER 1: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots sits on the bench near the end of the game during a loss to the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium on December 1, 2019 in Houston, Texas. The Texans defeated the Patriots 28-22. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) HOUSTON, TX - DECEMBER 1: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots sits on the bench near the end of the game during a loss to the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium on December 1, 2019 in Houston, Texas. The Texans defeated the Patriots 28-22. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/89dcdad7fd06ebf535e3714792a84b2d35f1d72a549e48ba038c38eafb049ceb.jpg)
Does Tom Brady’s dissatisfaction this season have more to do with the state of his offense or his relationship with the New England Patriots organization?
When Tom Brady and the New England Patriots agreed on his most recent contract extension, it immediately raised some eyebrows from everyone who is a fan of the NFL. Tom Brady will earn $23 million this season (which is a small raise from last year) and become a free agent this spring for the first time in his career.
Considering Brady is now in his 40s, the end is near for the future Hall of Fame quarterback… and it’s beginning to show in more ways than just on the field.
According to NBC Sports’ Patrick Dunn, Brady sold his house in Brookline, Massachusetts during the season and bought a new house in Greenwich, Connecticut. It should be noted Brady’s trainer and business partner Alex Guerrero also put his Massachusetts-area house on the market.
This could come across as shocking because ever since a TB12 sports and wellness center opened at Patriots Place, Brady and Guerrero have been side by side. Guerrero joined WEEI’s Christian Fauria’s “25 for 25k” event recently and was asked about putting his house on the market in regards to Tom Brady’s future with the Patriots. Here’s some of what he said, per WEEI’s Ryan Hannable:
"“I’m only moving 40 minutes from where I live now [Norfolk to Plymouth]. So, I’m not going very far. It was a good time to sell. I’ve got four kids. I’ve got two that are married, two that are off in college. My wife and I decided it was time to downsize. It was a good time to sell. We wanted to be closer to the grandchildren.”"
There’s also Brady’s negative attitude towards the team that he has to work with this season. Brady and his depleted offense have struggled to form any kind of chemistry this season, and it has cost them games – first against Baltimore, and then in back-to-back weeks against Houston and Kansas City.
When asked about his young receivers, Brady had the following to say, per NESN’s Zack Cox:
"“I think one thing we talk about here is just doing our jobs. I mean, I can do what I can do. Every player can do what they can do. I can’t do anything for anyone else: they can’t do anything for me. So a lot of it’s just trust and trying to communicate trust and communication.”"
Let’s look at this from Brady’s perspective.
You’ve given him a rookie wide receiver first-round draft pick (N’Keal Harry) who spent the first half of the season on IR, two undrafted rookie wide receivers (Jakobi Meyers and Gunner Olszewski), and a strung-together offensive line. There was never an effort to try and replace the loss of Rob Gronkowski, and the team parted ways with both Josh Gordon and Antonio Brown.
Why should Brady, the greatest of all time, feel happy about the way this season turned out for the Pats?
Most recently, the New England Patriots have been caught filming another team’s sideline in an incident that has already been dubbed “Spygate 2.0.” As part of the “Do Your Job” webseries the Patriots have been producing online, the team wanted to film what an advanced scout does as part of his job and duties.
In doing so, someone on the Patriots sent the scout to the Cleveland Browns/Cincinnati Bengals game. Allegedly, a member of the production crew had his camera fixed on the Bengals coaching staff for the entire first quarter. What makes this situation even more suspicious is that the Patriots and Bengals are playing a game against each other this week.
A source tells me a Bengals employee was watching the videographer/cameraman who identified himself as a Robert Kraft employee. The Bengals employee kept an eye on that monitor, the shot was of the Bengals coaches and staff on the sidelines for the entire 1st quarter.
— Dianna Russini 🏈 (@diannaESPN) December 9, 2019
Bill Belichick was late to his Monday weekly radio presser on WEEI’s Ordway, Merloni, and Fauria show due to the recent discovery of the alleged filming. After hearing how surprised and shocked Belichick was, I tend to stand on his side of the fence with this. He went on to say on the radio show that “this is something that we [the football side of the team] 100% have zero involvement with.”
Bill Belichick joined OMF for his first response to the Bengals allegations of the #Patriots videotaping their sideline signals
— Jones & Mego with Arcand (@JonesandMego) December 10, 2019
BB: "This is something we 100% have zero involvement with"@GlennDOrdway @LouMerloni @christianfauria pic.twitter.com/XD4ffEcIiv
The New England Patriots then released a statement acknowledging the fault committed.
Statement from the New England Patriots. pic.twitter.com/rhXdwVvnr8
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) December 10, 2019
Considering all of the other unexpected variables that have come up this season – and now Spygate 2.0 – why should Brady feel happy about the current state of the New England Patriots? Granted, Brady himself has looked spotty at times this season, but looking at the way this season turned out of the team, his options have become very limited.
dark. Next. Should the Patriots give Damien Harris a chance?
It’s unknown what Brady’s goals are in regards to his NFL future, but I do think he’s open to the idea of going into free agency and seeing what his options could potentially be.