Since Tom Brady retired and began the next chapter of his career as a color commentator for FOX Sports, Patriots fans have been salivating over the idea of him calling a game for his former team, especially since he has already been in the booth for the Bucs a few times.
That hasn't happened to New England just yet, mainly because they have been a losing team and haven't been given the A-Team in their games. On top of that, Brady has exclusively called games during the 4:25 EST time slot, and the Patriots have predominantly played games in the morning.
Now that they're about to play the Dolphins in Week 18 and the NFL just released the schedule for the final slate of 2025 games, there's a good chance that Brady will finally make his debut in the commentary booth for the Patriots.
There's a good chance that the Patriots could have Tom Brady calling their final 2025 game
According to the newly released lineup, the Patriots are set to play in the afternoon window, with just two other games airing at the same time on FOX stations. Considering the other matchups, Brady may be at Gillette next Sunday.
Although there's not a whole lot at stake, the Patriots are still competing for the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoff picture, so they need a win against Miami to stay alive, while hoping the Broncos fall to the Chargers so they can steal their spot atop the conference.
Here is the full Week 18 schedule: pic.twitter.com/W7HvjoMSXr
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 29, 2025
If he's not returning to Foxboro, however, the next likeliest game is the Lions at the Bears, only because there is a chance Detroit plays spoiler by stealing a win in the Windy City, which impacts the Bears' playoff seeding.
That's really the only difference between the two games, because we can already rule out the Cardinals at the Rams game. That should be an absolute domination by LA if they aren't resting their starters.
This gives Patriots fans another thing to look forward to, and if Brady isn't going to be there, the wait continues, and maybe in his third year, he will finally be able to call a Patriots game.