If Tom Brady wants to return to the NFL this year, he has an open invitation to join the New England Patriots, but they wouldn’t necessarily look to sign him as a player.
During a Monday interview with WEEI in BostonPatriots head coach Jerod Mayo said he would welcome Brady with open arms if he wanted to join the New England coaching staff.
“I love Tom and the door is always open if he wants to come here and coach,” Mayo said.
If Brady wants to coach, then he has a job with the Patriots, but if he actually wants to play, Mayo didn’t seem so sure about that option.
“As far as the field goes, I don’t know,” Mayo said. “But if he comes here, again, going back to ‘the best player that will play,’ you have to come here and compete and he loves to compete.”
Even though Brady is a fierce competitor, Mayo doesn’t think the 46-year-old will actually try to play for the Patriots this year.
“I doubt he’ll walk through those doors anytime soon,” Mayo said.
Brady has been retired for over a year now, but the seven-time Super Bowl winner seemed open to a possible NFL return This year. The four-time NFL MVP hinted during an April 11 interview that he might be interested in coming out of retirement, but only if it happened in a place like Las Vegas or New England.
“I’m not opposed to it,” Brady said of a possible return to the “Deep Cuts” podcast. “I don’t know if they’re going to let me do it, if I own an NFL team, but I don’t know if – I don’t know, I’ll still be in shape (I’ll still be able to throw the ball. So to come in a little bit, like MJ coming back? I don’t know if they would allow me, but I wouldn’t object.
Brady has already come out of retirement once before, so it wouldn’t be entirely surprising to see it happen again, which might explain why Mayo hasn’t totally dismissed the idea.
That being said, if Brady is to return, this year will likely be his last chance. As Brady noted, he’s about to become a minority shareholder from an NFL team (Raiders) and once that is voted on it will be almost impossible for him to return, as he would have to get approval from the NFL owners to play at that point, and he would need 24 out of 24. 32 of them will be on board. Let’s also not forget that Brady a job in sight at Fox as the No. 1 color analyst on NFL games, and they’d probably like to know if he plans to play this year.
As for the Patriots, they appear more than set at quarterback for the 2024 season. Not only did they select Drake Maye with the third overall pick in last week’s NFL Draft, but they also took over the Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton in the sixth round. With these two picks, the Patriots now have five quarterbacks on their roster, making for a crowded QB room.
Of course, even if Brady doesn’t return to New England as a coach or player this year, he’ll still be heading to Foxboro in the very near future. The NFL legend will be inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame in a ceremony June 12 at Gillette Stadium.
