If he remains with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next season, quarterback Tom Brady will have a chance to face his former team, the New England Patriots. According to Nicole Yang, Patriots beat reporter for the Boston Globe, Brady will make his return to Foxborough when the Buccaneers play the Patriots in 2021. Yang said the date of the matchup is yet to be revealed but the Buccaneers are sure to be one of the Patriots’ opponents in 2021. The Patriots will also take on the rest of the NFC South – on the road against the Atlanta Falcons and the Carolina Panthers and at home against the New Orleans Saints.
For sure, it will be an unfamiliar sight with Brady playing at Gillette Stadium in a different uniform. But it will be a sentimental occasion for Brady as he led the Patriots to six Super Bowl titles in his two decades with the team. The Patriots drafted Brady with the 199th overall pick in the 2000 NFL Draft and carried him as their fourth quarterback that year. In his second year, Brady won the backup job and took over the starting role when Drew Bledsoe suffered a season-ending injury in Week 2. That year, Brady led the Patriots to their first Super Bowl win.
Buccaneers’ ownership wants Brady to stick next season
While he signed a two-year deal worth $50 million with the Buccaneers in the offseason, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk said it has yet to be known if Brady would want to stick with the team next season.
Florio said Brady might seek a release or trade or retire and it would be easy for him to leave the team since he didn’t earn any signing bonus from the $25 million salary that he received in 2020. However, Florio said the Buccaneers want to make sure that the veteran quarterback remains part of the team next season, partly due to financial reasons.
Florio said that Buccaneers want Brady to remain the biggest attraction next season if the pandemic subsides and fans are allowed to attend games at Raymond James Stadium. Florio stressed that fans would fill up the stadium to watch Brady play and not head coach Bruce Arians. With the Buccaneers securing their first playoff berth since 2007, Brady would want to remain with the team next season.
Brady eyes to secure No. 5 seed
During his Monday’s media conference, Arians stressed that their regular-season finale against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday is a must-win as they want to secure the No. 5 seed in the postseason. In his regular interview with Jim Gray on Westwood One Radio, Brady also expressed the same sentiment as his head coach. “This game this week for us is hugely important because it impacts what we do moving forward,” Brady told Gray. If the Buccaneers win their rematch against the Falcons, they will secure the No. 5 seed and a date with the NFC East champion. The NFC East title remains up for grabs with teams all with losing records -- Washington Football Team, New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys – battling for it.
