Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady can set two new records when he makes his much-anticipated return to New England to play his former team, the Patriots, on October 3 at Gillette Stadium. If the 43-year-old Brady wins over his former squad, he will become the fourth quarterback in NFL history to beat all of the league’s 32 squads, behind Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, and Drew Brees. Brady played for the Patriots for 20 seasons, leading them to six Bowl titles, before he signed a two-year deal worth $50 million with the Buccaneers, whom he led to a Super Bowl title with a masterful 31-9 triumph over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV.
But it won’t be the feat that Brady can set in that game as he can reset another record that he set last season if he goes up against Patriots rookie quarterback Mac Jones in that game. According to a report by Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk, Brady’s matchup with Jones will set a new NFL record for the largest age difference between starting quarterbacks in NFL history. Brady is set to turn 44 on August 3 while Jones would be 23 on September 5, making it an age difference of more than 21 years between two starting quarterbacks.
Brady also set to face young rookie QBs
Brady earlier set the record at 20 years when he faced Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers last year. In case Jones doesn’t beat veteran Cam Newton for the starting quarterback job, Brady has another chance to set a new record in terms of starting quarterback age gap when the Buccaneers take on the Philadelphia Eagles and quarterback Jalen Hurts on October 14.
Hurts is older than Jones by one month as he turns 23 on August 7. But the age gap record could be broken anew by Brady himself when he faces the Chicago Bears on October 24 if rookie quarterback Justin Fields would be the starter at that time. Fields will turn 23 on March 5. However, Brady can set a new mark when the Buccaneers play the New York Jets and rookie signal-caller Zach Wilson on January 2.
Wilson is only 21 years old.
Brady opens up about foray into free agency
During an interview with HBO’s “The Shop”, Brady spoke about his foray into free agency last offseason where he admitted that he received offers from several teams, including the Buccaneers. In a report by Chris Cwik of Yahoo Sports, Brady disclosed that he felt snubbed by one team, which he did not name.
"You're sticking with that motherf***er?" Brady said in the teaser provided by HBO, referring to the team’s decision not to sign him. Based on reports, the Los Angeles Chargers, Chicago Bears, Las Vegas Raiders, San Francisco 49ers, and the Tennessee Titans all expressed interest in signing Brady. Last season, the Chargers had Tyrod Taylor as starting quarterback before shifting to Herbert while the Bears had Mitchell Trubisky. The Raiders had Derek Carr while Jimmy Garoppolo and Ryan Tannehill started for the 49ers and Titans, respectively.
