This would run counter to a player whose career is defined by the relentless, even unhealthy, pursuit of victory. However, two of his worst games of the season came in a Week 17 loss to (coincidentally) Miami, which cost New England a first-round bye, and then in the wild-card loss to Tennessee. So did the fact Brady was having conversations about his future with a different team impact his play while still with the Patriots? There is no way to know, of course. Brady wasn’t some normal job-seeker though. Sure, this is how most job switches work an employee gets contacted. That said, it's hard not to wonder where his head was during a 2019 season that was rough by his lofty standards - and during which we now know he was being actively recruited by the Miami Dolphins. Tom Brady doesn't owe New England anything. The league has suspended Beal and team owner Stephen Ross, who had “knowledge” and was supportive of the tampering, as well as stripped the club of two future draft picks.
“The Dolphins had impermissible communications as early as August 2019 and continued throughout the 2019 season and postseason,” the NFL determined. NFL rules prohibit teams from contacting players who are under contract with another team. He later became a free agent and signed with Tampa Bay, where he is set to begin his third (and likely final) season. Now, however, following a NFL disciplinary report released Tuesday involving the systematic tampering of the Dolphins, we know that during the 2019 season, Brady was engaged in “numerous and detailed conversations” with Miami executive Bruce Beal.īrady was in the final year of his contract in New England. He completed 64.8 percent of his passes in the first nine games of the season, but 55.3 after that.Īt the time, Brady’s relative struggles were shrugged off as missing Rob Gronkowski (who had “retired”) and the QB being 42 years old. A loss in the wild-card round to Tennessee was New England’s fourth in six games.ĭuring the second half of the season, Brady’s play slipped - seven of his 10 lowest-graded games by ProFootballFocus came after Week 11. New England won the division again, but the end of the season was a disjointed mess. It was his final with the Pats and a time when he was also engaging in repeated conversations with the Miami Dolphins.
That said, you can’t blame former teammates, coaches, fans or anyone with the franchise if they wonder where Brady’s head and heart were during the 2019 season.
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