Former Patriots QB Tom BradyCharles Krupa/Associated Press
The New England Patriots failed to retain six-time champion Tom Brady this offseason. They never appeared to make him a serious contract offer and lost him to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in free agency.
On one hand, the loss of Brady could galvanize the New England roster.
“It’s motivating for people to say you can’t win without Brady,” former Patriots safety Rodney Harrison said, per Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald.
On the other hand, letting Brady walk leaves New England with the prospect of starting either journeyman Brian Hoyer or second-year quarterback Jarrett Stidham in Week 1. While head coach Bill Belichick and his players may be eager to prove they can win without TB12, they may regret allowing him to go without a serious fight.
New England cannot possibly know whether Stidham is ready to take over as its new franchise signal-caller, and it should know that Hoyer is not a long-term answer. He’s played well for stretches in the past but has struggled in pressure situations. In a 2015 playoff game with the Texans, he turned the ball over five times while passing for just 136 yards in a 30-0 loss to the Chiefs.
New England didn’t draft a quarterback and didn’t add a veteran aside from Hoyer in the offseasonunsurprising, seeing as how it has less than $2 million in cap space.
The reality is that the Patriots allowed Brady to walk during an offseason in which they were ill-prepared to replace him.
