Patriots: Tom Brady talking about leaving New England will make fans sad

What made the New England Patriots’ laboring through their worst campaign in two decades all the more difficult to reckon with for fans was the fact that it transpired the offseason after longtime quarterback Tom Brady left in free agency.

As we know, Brady inked a two-year, $50 million deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last offseason.

Defying his age, he was rewarded with a fresh extension almost immediately after he brought a championship to the winning-starved franchise in his first season.

Wonderful.

For much of the season, reporters and pundits did their best to get Brady to reveal what ultimately persuaded him to leave the Patriots, and, as a means to not offend anybody in Foxborough, largely left them wanting more with his answers.

However, it would appear that being away from the game, not that he isn’t practicing like a mad man at the crack of dawn every morning, was just what Brady needed to loosen up in front of the microphone.

In a revealing interview with ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Brady went into detail about his decision to leave New England at the altar last offseason. The most telling portion of the sit down came when Brady revealed that there’s more to life in the NFL beyond the “Patriot Way.”

Tom Brady opened up on his decision to leave the Patriots last offseason.

In the end, while he enjoyed every second of his time with the Patriots, Brady felt leaving was in the best interest of his career.

Patriots fans will probably take offense to these comments, and rightfully so, as losing a franchise legend — let alone one of Brady’s acclaim — is never easy. However, we wouldn’t read too much into them. After all, it’s not like he called out anybody associated with the franchise.

If you’re going to have beef with anybody on the Bucs, do so with head coach Bruce Arians, who voluntarily flamed Bill Belichick‘s coaching methods and the “Patriot Way” in a number of press conferences this past season.

Furthermore, Brady never committed to the Patriots beyond the 2019 season, which famously ended with them getting steamrolled by Tennessee (at Gillette Stadium, no less) in the first round of the playoffs after they choked away the No. 1 seed in the final week of the regular season.

Nothing lasts forever, and after 20 years it was time for Brady to try something else, even if it meant leaving everybody that helped mold his career behind.

Given the state of the Patriots’ roster last season, can you really blame him? If you do, you obviously didn’t watch what he accomplished in his first year in Tampa Bay.

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