The rumors are coming out. Tom Brady was apparently close to playing for the New Orleans Saints. It was reported on Monday when Tom Brady called an “unnamed QB a mother-f—ker” as he revealed a mystery team that passed on him in free agency. This was in HBO’s series called “The Shop” that previewed the show on Friday with him saying, “One of the teams, they weren’t interested at the very end.
I was thinking, ‘You’re sticking with that motherf–ker?’” Brady recalls in the clip, laughing. Once Brady said those comments, plenty wanted to know which team he was talking about. Brady could’ve been talking about the Bears with Mitch Trubisky, the Raiders with Derek Carr, the Chargers with Justin Herbert, the Titans with Ryan Tannehill or maybe even the 49ers with Jimmy Garoppolo.
ESPN reported on which team Brady was referring too after all on Tuesday. “I’m gonna say it as clear as day: it’s the New Orleans Saints,” NFL reporter Jeff Darlington said on Tuesday’s episode of ESPN’s “Get Up.” “Regret might be a strong word because ultimately Drew Brees decided to delay his broadcasting career and come back for one more season. The Saints did the right thing by bringing Brees back.”
Brees announced his retirement in March after the 2020-2021 season and revealed that he would be going to broadcasting as an analyst for NBC Sports. Darlington continued, “I think that people still underestimate how close Tom Brady was to signing with the New Orleans Saints up until he ultimately decided on the Bucs. “I know that that’s gonna be a statement people try to question.
It’s the truth.” It would have been dirty had the Saints signed Brady with Brees wanting to play another year. That wouldn’t be right, especially since he played nearly his entire career with the Saints and gave them a Super Bowl to go along with it. But looking back now, Brees might have put the Saints in a bad position. This season, the quarterback position is up for grabs for the Saints and they don’t have a reliable play caller at the moment.
It would be nice to have Brady on the team right about now. “Here’s the deal: [Saints head coach] Sean Payton cannot look back and say, ‘Man, I would have loved to have Tom Brady last year,’ because it would also have meant that they have him for a few more years moving forward. No question in my mind,” Darlington said.
“The Saints, despite understanding they did what they had to do, there’s a little bit of — let’s call it regret — that Tom Brady is not their quarterback.” Now the Saints will have a competition between Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill for the starting job. Winston’s workouts are currently going viral and are frustrating to watch with one month away from training camp.
If Brady was a Saint right now, the Saints would be Super Bowl contenders. Instead, this team has so many doubters and why wouldn’t they doubt? The team doesn’t have a reliable quarterback. But in reality, the Saints might make the right decision by Drew Brees. They couldn’t dump him for Brady, a guy that Brees has competed against for years at a high level.
Brady left at the worst time for the Saints. The Saints were in the wrong place at the wrong time, type of deal.Would you back them in your NFL picks? If Brady had been a free agent this season, Brees would’ve signed with the Saints in a heartbeat. It’s just how this business goes. Brady surely isn’t mad about his decision now after winning a championship with the Bucs.
