After two long years of Patriots fans wanting Tom Brady in the booth for a New England game since he became a full-time commentator, the time has finally come: the former quarterback will call their Week 9 matchup against the Packers on Sunday.
It has prompted a lot of reminiscing about the dynasty years and all the incredible accomplishments Brady achieved during his two decades in Foxboro, and many are wondering just how fair he will be after seemingly turning his back on the team where he found the most success in his career.
It's the first time he's been at Gillette Stadium since his statue was unveiled last August, officially making him part of Patriot Place for the foreseeable future. Fans were happy to see it, even if he's said some controversial things about the team since.
Since retiring and becoming a minority owner of the Raiders, Brady has had some not-so-great things to say about the franchise, whether it was expressing his truth about what led to him leaving for the Bucs in 2020, or claiming he "had no dog in the fight" when asked to make his Super Bowl pick earlier this year.
So, coming into this game, some current Patriots players might feel weird, a few of whom expressed disappointment in his lack of support ahead of the Super Bowl, and maybe that's something Mike Vrabel is feeling ahead of Sunday.
That was at least what some took from his response about catching up with Brady before the game.
Mike Vrabel didn't sound too excited about Tom Brady's return to New England
While speaking to reporters on Wednesday, the Patriots' head coach was asked whether he would have some time to catch up with Brady, even if he's coming to New England as a broadcaster rather than a retired player.
Because Vrabel was on the Patriots during Brady's career, and they're still good friends to this day, his response about being "contractually obligated" caught some off guard, since he said it a few times and given the controversy around some of the former quarterback's comments about the Patriots over the last two years.
Mike Vrabel on catching up with Tom Brady, who is returning to Foxborough as a broadcaster for the first time:
— Patriots on CLNS (@PatriotsCLNS) November 4, 2026
"I'm required contractually to catch up with him at some point. I'm sure it'll be a Zoom."
-@CLNSMedia pic.twitter.com/IP34eMqqnE
Given his little smirk at the end, Vrabel likely gave a politically correct answer and didn't want to provide too many details about what he may or may not do when Brady comes to town this weekend.
On top of that, they have a brother-like relationship where they give each other a hard time and purposely rib one another.
At the same time, it's hard to overlook what his words could mean, reading between the lines, as it was only a few months ago when Brady refused to show public support for the Patriots in the Super Bowl, and Seahawks head coach Mike MacDonald implied the quarterback helped their team prepare for the matchup.
That didn't sit well with fans, especially after Brady supported Matthew Stafford's bid for MVP over Drake Maye just a few weeks earlier, and the locker room likely heard it all.
Whether there's any truth to that will never be known, but it puts a lot of pressure on Brady to call a fair game on Sunday, and hopefully, Patriots fans won't be disappointed.
The same can be said about Vrabel's intentions with his odd response about catching up with the quarterback. Because he can be very Bill Belichick-ian in how he speaks to the media, and given his funny relationship with Brady, it's more likely than not that he was just being facetious.
That's the best way to think about it before Sunday's matchup, because the last thing Patriots fans need or want to feel right now is any more negativity about post-Patriots Tom Brady.
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