Getty There are no shortage of teams interested in Tom Brady.
If you thought Tom Brady was only attracting a select number of teams in free agency, think again.
According to a report by WEEI’s Dale Arnold, the number of teams that are interested in signing Brady as a free agent are in the double digits — 11, to be exact. As Arnold details, there are a few surprises as teams such as the Washington Redskins, New York Giants and New York Jets are apparently interested.
“I have been told as many as 11 teams may have already indicated to the Brady camp that there is some interest,” he said Wednesday on Dale & Keefe. “I have been told that the Redskins are interested. The next two probably would shock you — Manish Mehta will take hostages — because I was told the Jets may be interested, and Joe Judge may be interested for the New York Giants.”
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Redskins, Jets and Giants Are All Surprising
While it has been no surprise that a team like the Los Angeles Chargers has been heavily linked to Brady, the aforementioned three in the latest report does come as a surprise. The Redskins are supposed to be building around top draft pick Dwayne Haskins, who just recently completed his rookie season. In fact, he started the team’s last seven games.
That’s not even mentioning the fact that the Redskins still owe the injured Alex Smith a $16 million base salary for the 2020 season. Along with his $5.4 million signing bonus, that’s a $21.4 million cap hit — that’s the largest cap hit for the Redskins of any individual player.
As far as the Giants are concerned, that one is a bit surprising. But it also makes sense. Their new head coach, Joe Judge, coached the New England Patriots for the past eight seasons. Although the team has committed to Daniel Jones as the QB of the future — it’s the reason why Eli Manning retired — they could commit to Brady for one year in an effort to contend right now.
The Jets are surprising, especially considering Sam Darnold has served as the starting quarterback for the past two seasons. This is another young team that is building towards the future along with their young homegrown quarterback. However, this is a franchise that hasn’t been a consistent contender since the Rex Ryan years. Furthermore, they haven’t clinched a playoff berth since the 2010 season.
Long story short, if the Jets have an opportunity by some miracle to sign Brady, they would take it in a heartbeat in an effort to contend for the first time in a decade.
Unlikely That Brady Considers Playing For Aforementioned Teams
With all of this said, let’s be real — Brady is trying to playing for a contender. The Redskins and Jets aren’t anywhere close, and while the Giants have some nice offensive pieces and a former Patriots coach leading the way, it would be a miracle if Brady even gave consideration to signing in the Big Apple.
This report is important not necessarily because a team like the Jets are interested in Brady, but because of the amount of teams interested in the six-time Super Bowl champion.
Brady will be 43 years old this year and the amount of interest in a soon-to-be 43-year-old quarterback is unprecedented. There’s never been this kind of interest in free agency for a 43-year-old player in NFL history.
There may be major questions marks relating to Brady’s future, but one thing is for certain — there isn’t a lack of interest in the oldest quarterback in the league.
That is simply remarkable, regardless of where Brady decides to play in 2020.