Patriots: Bill Belichick refutes rumors he pushed for Tom Brady departure

Just in case you’ve been living in the wilderness without the internet for the last year or so, New England Patriots legend Tom Brady is scheduled to make his return to Foxborough as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 4 against Bill Belichick and his Pats squad, setting the stage for what will assuredly be an emotional night.

While Brady already has another Super Bowl under his belt with Bruce Arians and the Bucs, things haven’t been as smooth for Belichick.

With a roster that wasn’t as strong as past seasons, Cam Newton and Mac Jones have led this team to an 8-11 record over the last season and a quarter.

Reports from all across the sports landscape have painted Brady and Belichick as embittered rivals over the last years of their tenure together. Per Belichick, however, friction was not the reason that Brady chose to leave New England.

On his weekly radio spot ahead of the showdown, Belichick claimed that the main reason for Brady’s departure was not any sort of interpersonal conflict, as the Patriots made every attempt to retain him.

Belichick chalked up Brady leaving to a simple case of an opposing free agency destination being more attractive.

“There were a lot of things there,” Belichick said. “He looked at his options and made a decision. We weren’t as good of an option as Tampa. So, I mean, you’d have to ask him about all that. But that really wasn’t a question about not wanting him.”

Patriots coach Bill Belichick clears up the Tom Brady situation.

Belichick and Brady may have had some clashes on and off the field, but if we are to take Bill for his word, New England made every effort to retain him. Considering how loaded that Tampa roster was, it appears Brady made the right choice.

The rarely-giddy Belichick seemed less than interested in analyzing Brady coming back to New England as anything more than a regular Week 4 game, as he tried to shut down reporter Tom Curran when asked about his feelings pertaining to No. 12.

Tried to follow up. Not gonna happen.

While it remains to be seen if Belichick can win a championship without Brady, the split may be mutually beneficial for all. Brady got another ring in Tampa, and the Patriots were able to select a potential franchise quarterback in Mac Jones to fill the void.

Irrespective of what either party may say about the other, it’s clear and obvious that both Brady and Belichick are dying to win this game. Belichick apparently never wanted it to come to this, but for the first time in two decades, Brady will come to New England as the enemy.

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