Before Tom Brady chose to officially retire after the 2022 season, rumors connected him to a potential Patriots return in one way or another. Many fans hoped he would end his career in New England, or, at the very least, retire as a Patriot. Unfortunately, that didn't happen, which led Robert Kraft to skip the usual process of retiring a jersey and fast-tracking Tom Brady Day to take place last summer.
During that ceremony, fans learned a 12-foot statue would be unveiled outside of the Patriots Hall of Fame in honor of Brady during the 2024 season. Because the legendary quarterback was set to begin his color commentary career, he was scheduled to call a Patriots game during the season, making it the perfect time for the statue to be unveiled.
However, because of the Patriots' poor season, Brady was moved to a more competitive game, and the statue reveal was put on hold until this fall.
With all the schedule leaks making the rounds ahead of the full release on Wednesday night, we now know when that should be happening, yet it seems unlikely that Brady will return when expected this season.
Tom Brady probably won't be on hand for the Patriots matchup with the Raiders in Week 1
The Patriots are set to welcome the Las Vegas Raiders to Gillette Stadium in Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season. Typically, it would be fair to assume that Tom Brady would be present, given that he is a minority owner.
However, that's likely not the case this year given his commentary duties with FOX Sports.
When it was announced he bought a stake in the Raiders, it was easy to plan for seeing Brady's first return to Foxboro since his HOF induction was happening when the Raiders came to town. But now that he's full-time in the booth, it's unlikely that FOX will have him on hand for this matchup, especially considering the more exciting games that will be had in Week 1.
It's another roadblock for Robert Kraft, who hoped to have Brady in the building for the statue unveiling this year. The game against the Raiders seemed like the best time for that, but that seems doubtful now.
It will be interesting to see when it will eventually happen, as Brady is a full-time commentator now and doesn't get a bye week. It's potentially an event that Kraft will have to schedule around that and hold during the week, rather than on game day, which is certainly not favorable.