Pros and cons behind Tom Brady’s most likely destinations

1. New England Patriots

Some have argued that the Patriots aren’t even the third most likely team to land Brady this spring — or perhaps more accurately, to retain Brady this spring.

We think that’s a bit of a stretch. It doesn’t really matter whether or not Brady’s management has met with the Patriots yet. It also doesn’t matter who his agent has or hasn’t spoken to at the combine. We know that Brady is very much in the Patriots’ plans for 2020, and that more likely than not, New England is just waiting for the CBA to either pass or not pass before putting on the full-court press.

Brady’s a smart cookie — we think he knows it too. He’s just using his situation as leverage right now to make Belichick and the Patriots sweat a bit, similar to what’s happening with Dak Prescott and Dallas a little bit.

PROS:

Brady won’t find a better head coach/offensive coordinator combo anywhere else in the league than what he has right now in Belichick and Josh McDaniels. Despite whatever tension or rumored rifts may or may not have occurred over the years between him and his head coach, their partnership clearly works — as is evidenced by all the success they’ve had together over the past 20 years.

Brady also won’t find another culture like New England has in place. The “Patriot Way” is a very real thing, whether Belichick wants to admit it or not.

As frustrated as Brady appeared at times during 2019 with the youngsters around him, he only got that way because he knows what to expect in New England. If he got up in some of the faces of other players in Tampa or L.A. or Vegas, who knows what might happen … he could very well get punched in the face.

Julian Edelman knows how to play with Brady better than any other receiver in the NFL. Their chemistry is very real and very powerful — it’s evident in the regular season, in the postseason, in the Super Bowl and in training camp. It’s evident in how they practice and train together during their free time in the summer on the beaches of California.

The Patriots inarguably have the best defense in the NFL right now. Even if high-profile players like Van Noy or Collins leave in free agency, the bulk of the D remains intact — that same D that lit the league on fire last season. Stephon Gilmore, J.C. Jackson, Dont’a Hightower, Chase Winovich — they’re all coming back for an encore in 2020.

Despite the overarching misconception that the AFC East is just the worst division in football year in and year out (it’s definitely not), there’s still no denying that it is  one of the weaker divisions in the NFL. The Bills are certainly a threat and the Jets aren’t exactly pushovers — and everybody knows what the Dolphins are capable of doing to the Patriots no matter what their record is.

But by and large, this is a winnable division that still should run through New England with or without Brady under center in 2020 … and perhaps much longer than that. If Brady stays in the AFC East with the Pats, he virtually guarantees himself a playoff ticket every season — plus he avoids having to duke it out with the likes of any of the other teams listed above just for divisional supremacy (ie. the Chiefs, Titans, Chargers, etc.).

Finally, Brady’s legacy remains somehow more perfect and storybook if he remains with New England. Whether or not this matters to him is anyone’s guess, but there’s no denying that it’s a better narrative for the team that took a chance on him with the No. 199 overall pick way back in 2000 to be the same team he finishes his career with … whenever that may be.

CONS:

As they’re currently constructed, the Patriots don’t have an abundance of weapons for Brady on offense.

Edelman is phenomenal of course, but he’ll also be 34 before training camp rolls around — and he’s dealt with a number of injuries, both over his career and even just this past season.

Mohamed Sanu never seemed to prove himself a reliable pass-catcher last season and now needs surgery on his ankle, putting his return to action date up in the air.

N’Keal Harry never emerged into a reliable third option or outside threat at receiver, though the rookie may have needed more time to learn the Patriots’ offense and complicated route trees.

Running back seems like it’d be an area of strength for the Pats, what with Sony Michel, James White, Rex Burkhead, Brandon Bolden, and Damien Harris all on the roster. And yet, the Patriots’ rushing attack faltered for long stretches of the season last year, and there are no guarantees it’ll be better in 2020.

The offensive line is a major question mark once again this season. Joe Thuney and Ted Karras are almost certainly bound for big paydays elsewhere, leaving only 2019 starters Marcus Cannon, Isaiah Wynn, and Shaq Mason behind. Wynn and Cannon both battled injuries and sickness for stretches of last season, and Mason wasn’t quite as good as he was in 2018 for the team.

Hopefully, 2018 starting center David Andrews gets medical clearance to return to the lineup after suffering a major scare with blood clots in his lungs. If he comes back alongside Cannon and Mason on his right and with Wynn on his left at either tackle or guard, at least 4/5 of the Patriots’ offensive line looks much better on paper.

Whether or not they all stay healthy, though, is the real concern. Plus, who’s going to replace Thuney? Even if the Pats move Wynn to guard, then Brady’s blindside is left vulnerable with no natural replacement at left tackle (it can’t be Marshall Newhouse, that much is certain).

Longtime coach Dante Scarnecchia has also retired, leaving the O-line in more a precarious position this spring than it was last spring, for sure.

All of this being said and acknowledged, the Patriots still make the most sense for Brady at this stage of his career. If winning is still as important to him as it always has been — and there’s no reason to think it’s not — then he really should just make a decision between New England and Tennessee.

All the other options just don’t come close to those two … at least in our humble opinion here.