The NFL world was set ablaze on Thursday morning with reports that Tom Brady has all but closed the book on his career with the New England Patriots, but one insider who has a good relationship with Brady is not yet convinced.
Peter King of NBC Sports, who is fairly close with Brady and has done numerous features on him over the years, spoke about Brady’s situation during an appearance on WEEI’s “Dale & Keefe Show.” He was asked about ESPN’s Jeff Darlington reporting that people close to Brady have been told by the QB that he is leaving the Patriots, and King said he heard something entirely different from a “big influencer in the NFL” on Thursday morning.
.@Peter_King: "It's funny, I just had breakfast this morning with quite a big influencer in the NFL and I said, 'what's your gut feeling about Brady?' and he goes, 'oh he's definitely going back to New England.'" pic.twitter.com/UrWkydAwJJ
— Dale & Keefe (@DaleKeefeWEEI) February 27, 2020
King admitted that he does not have any inside knowledge of Brady’s plans, but he said the person he spoke with about it “knows a few things.”
There were numerous reports about Brady’s future on Thursday morning that all surfaced around the same time. They all basically said the same thing — that Brady and the Patriots have gotten nowhere in contract talks and are on the verge of a divorce. The timing of the reports and fact that they were so widespread made it seem like they came directly from Brady’s camp, and it’s certainly possible that it is a negotiating ploy.
Brady’s suitors seem to be narrowed down to a few teams if he does leave New England, but free agency is still three weeks away. A lot can change between now and then, especially if Brady and the Patriots finally sit down to discuss a new deal.
