Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady will make his much-awaited return to Foxborough when his current team takes on his former squad, the New England Patriots, in Week 4. The 44-year-old Brady played for the Patriots for 20 years before he signed a two-year deal worth $50 million with the Buccaneers last offseason. The two teams had contrasting fates last season as the Buccaneers won their first Super Bowl title since 2001 after beating the Kansas City Chiefs, 31-9, in Super Bowl LV. The Patriots, for their part, missed the playoffs for the first time since 2008 after finishing the season with a 7-9 mark with Cam Newton as their starting quarterback.
Following that season, Brady’s favorite target, Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman, retired after a 12-year NFL career.
Brady, Edelman form close friendship
Brady, Edelman and tight end Rob Gronkowski formed a close bond during their playing days with the Patriots so the retired wide receiver is in a bind, days before the Buccaneers-Patriots clash. “It’s definitely weird,” Edelman said when asked how he would feel when he sees Brady in a different uniform playing against the Patriots, per Chris Rosvoglou of Sports Illustrated. “It’s like going to a family barbecue and you’re like the kid with divorced parents,” said Edelman, adding that “they’re both there and you don’t know if they’re going to fight.” Edelman however said he would root for the Patriots, but he’s still hoping that Brady and Gronkowski will both have good games against their former squad.
Aside from his return to Foxborough, fans will be anticipating if whether Brady can break the all-timg passing yards record currently owned by former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees. Brady will also try to become the fourth quarterback to beat all 32 NFL teams, joining Brees, Peyton Manning and Brett Favre.
Brady expects tough challenges vs Rams
But before he takes on his former team next week, Brady and the Buccaneers will play the Los Angeles Rams in Week 3 on Sunday at SoFi Stadium. This marks the first time Brady will play in Los Angeles in his 22-year NFL career. "This week is really challenging because they've got good players in the secondary, they have a good front and we lost to them last year," Brady said of the Rams, per Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com.
The veteran quarterback also said the Rams own one of the top-rated defenses in the league, led by one of the greatest defensive players of all-time in Aaron Donald. “Everything about this week is challenging – really good defense, really good offense, we've got a long way to travel,” said Brady, who has a 5-1 career record against the Rams. The Buccaneers are slight 1.5-point favorite over the Rams, who won against Brady, 27-24, last season.