Could Tom Brady return to the New England Patriots next season?
The Athletic’s Jeff Howe floated the possibility when identifying Brady’s former team as one of four potential landing spots if he keeps playing for another team in 2023. On Wednesday, WEEI’s The Greg Hill Show (h/t NESN) asked one of Brady’s former Patriots teammates about the rumor.
Matt Light, an offensive lineman who played alongside Brady from 2001 to 2011, said it “would not shock me at all” if the star quarterback considered reuniting with Bill Belichick.
“I wouldn’t put anything past him,” Light said of Brady. “The guy wants to win, and he knows how to do it with a guy like Belichick. I think he’s seeing the differences now. I mean, he only played for Bill, and then he goes down to Tampa and he’s had a couple head coaches down there now. He could conceivably come back and want to be with a proven winner.”
Howe wrote that the legendary quarterback and head coach “still have an abundance of respect for one another.” The Patriots could also go into the offseason with $50 million in free cap space.
However, Howe conceded that it might be a “long shot.” A lack of explosive pass-catching options partially led Brady to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020, and Belichick might not be willing to cast aside Mac Jones for a 46-year-old.
That’s all assuming Brady doesn’t retire for good this time.
Perhaps time away has revived Brady’s appreciation for his home of 20 seasons, but everything would have to align perfectly for him to play for the Patriots again.