Tom Brady is considered the best quarterback of all time, but at 42 years old entering this new NFL season, will he show signs of slowing down?
Brady is coming off a Super Bowl-winning season, with the New England Patriots defeating the Los Angeles Rams. However, it was mostly seen as a defensive performance. And New England was considered a run-heavy team last season.
Will we see more of a run-heavy offense as we heads towards what looks to be the final year(s) of Tom Brady on the Patriots, and perhaps in the NFL? Brady has long talked about playing until 45 years of age, but can he do it?
He's so far shown to defeat Father Time for the most part, but if you're expecting him to put up big numbers on offense, look the other way.
Sports Betting Dime have compiled a list of safe sportsbooks reviewed by pros and beginners make them a great source of information; and after digging a bit we found out that many betting sites have pretty low numbers for Tom Brady with a a projection of less than 29 regular season passing touchdowns, probably because of the absence of Rob Gronkowski, one of his best tools in the red zone.
Despite not playing with his quarterback this year, the now-retired Gronk still believes in Brady getting it done. Gronk thinks Brady can play "as long as he wants."
“The guy’s a beast, the guy’s a machine, the guy is Mr. Pliable. He can play for as long as he wants, and he is going to play for as long as he wants.”There was speculation regarding Brady's future with the Patriots this summer, but both sides were able to come to terms on a contract deal. As The Big Lead notes, Brady is essentially on a year-to-year basis in terms of his contract with New England.
There was also speculation since Brady's house in the area was up for sale, but he cleared up the air to WEEI.
“I think it takes a long time to sell a house. My house is a little bit of an expensive one, so it doesn’t fly off the shelf in a couple weeks. I think I am at a point in my life where there are a lot of considerations that go into playing. I have a very busy professional life, I have a very busy personal life, and any decision that is made has to consider everything.Brady is entering his 20th season. Last year, he threw for 4,355 passing yards with 29 touchdowns to 11 interceptions, a 65.8 completion percentage, and a 97.7 rating. It's a regress from his 2017 MVP campaign, but his numbers should expect a dip this year again.
“We have been at the same place for a long time and I love playing for the Patriots. I have such a great relationship with Mr. Kraft and Coach Belichick and our team. We’ll worry about that when that happens. This isn’t the time to worry about it.”
“It’s a unique situation I’m in my 20th year with the same team and 42 years old,” Brady said. “Pretty much unchartered territory for everybody and I’m going to go out there and be the best I can this year and see what happens.”Brady does have weapons like Josh Gordon back, and new draft pick N'Keal Harry should help. However, there is belief that Brady's heir and replacement is already on the horizon in New England.
Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe discussed backup QB Jarrett Stidham being the new guy for the Pats after Brady. Bayless thinks Stidham is "fast tracking" towards being the new replacement under Bill Belichick's wing.
Stidham was a fourth-round pick out of Auburn, and has seen snaps in the NFL preseason with the Patriots starting receivers. Shannon Sharpe believes this could be a test on whether Stidham can handle the offense in the future.
On Thursday night against the New York Giants, Stidham went 18-of-28 for 225 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception.
With all of this said, Brady's job should be secure as the starter this season. The only way it isn't is if he gets hit hard by Father Time, like in a Brett Favre or Peyton Manning fashion. And we can't rule it out, because it happens to everybody.
How long can Brady delay it?
