One of Tom Brady’s former teammates thinks there’s at least one non-New England destination the Patriots would be zen with.
Amid reports that the Buccaneers are “all-in” to pursue the six-time Super Bowl champion, retired Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson thinks there’s a spiteful reason the Kraft family and Bill Belichick “would be totally fine with Tom going to Tampa.”
“You know why? I think Bill thinks Tom isn’t going to win there,” Johnson told NBC Sports Boston’s “Early Edition” this week. “They’re not going to be successful. It’s just an inherently bad franchise. Tom going there is not going to all of a sudden turn around their fortunes.”
Brady is about to become an unrestricted free agent on March 18 for the first time in his career and will command upwards of $30 million a year on the open market. The future Hall of Famer is expected to have a number of interested suitors: Aside from the Buccaneers, the Chargers, Raiders, Titans, 49ers, Dolphins, Colts, Bears and Cowboys have all been named at some point this offseason as potential landing spots.
The soon-to-be 43-year-old quarterback likely has one or two years left as a viable starter. He is expected to cull the herd by looking for teams with weapons that can win now.
The Buccaneers may fall short in that category. While they have three very talented pass catchers in Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and O.J. Howard, the team has not finished with a winning record since 2016 when it won nine games.
“I feel like this is getting personal,” Johnson said. “So I’m basically saying that Bill Belichick wants to see Tom Brady fail. He might, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there would be a part of him that’s like, ‘Yeah, go ahead, Tom. Go to Tampa. Enjoy yourself.'”
ESPN’s Diana Russini reported on Tuesday that the Buccaneers are “willing to give Tom Brady the things he needs, he wants,” namely, “control over roster” and “play-calling,” which could certainly make their pitch more attractive.