Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - What-Happened Wednesday: Brady and Ex-Pats Leaving New England - 3/18/2020

Episode Date: March 18, 2020

It has been more than 24 hours since word of Tom Brady’s departure from New England became public. However, the question remains: What Happened? Fan-favorite Thomas Murphy joins host Mike D’Abate to discuss why Tom Brady said farewell to Foxboro, his fit with Tampa Bay, and what is next for the New England Patriots.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Patriots fans, you are now locked in to the Locked On Patriots Podcast. I'm going to show you how to make a beautiful and beautiful flower. I'm going to use a small flower pot. I'm going to use a small pot Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful. It is What Happened Wednesday here on the Lockdown Patriots podcast, your daily home for news notes and analysis infused with the occasional opinion on your six-time Super Bowl champions,

the New England Patriots. analysis infused with the occasional opinion on your six-time Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots. My name is Mike DeBate, your host of the Locked On Patriots podcast, which is a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. And because it's your team every day, that means that your questions, your comments, and your feedback, always welcomed and always appreciated. Please feel free to reach out to me on Twitter at MDABATEFPC and

while you're out there roaming around on that Twitterverse, be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots. And don't forget, you can always listen on your smart device just by asking it to play the latest episode of Locked On Patriots. Patriots fans, it's been more than

24 hours since Tom Brady took to social media to announce that he would be continuing his football journey outside of New England. And if you were waking up this morning hoping to find out that it was all a bad dream, well folks, as much as I wish I could, I simply can't help you there. At the time of my recording of Locked on Patriots yesterday, we still weren't sure where Tom was going to end up. There were rumors about Tampa Bay. There were rumors about the Los Angeles Chargers.

Even the Miami Dolphins crept back into the conversation. But yesterday evening, the official word started to leak out. Tom Brady will be a Tampa Bay Buccaneer. And there were a lot of differing opinions on who exactly broke the word first. In my estimation, it looks like it was Colin Coward of FS1 who announced on his show that he had received a text message from a source close to the Brady camp saying that the former Patriots quarterback... You know, folks, I can't even say that without getting sick to my stomach, but the former Patriots quarterback, Tom Brady, would be signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Sure enough, yesterday evening, reports trickled out that Miami was no longer involved, the Chargers didn't believe they had a chance, and lo and behold, in the early evening hours, ESPN's Adam Schefter confirmed the news, and just like that, photoshopped photos of Tom Brady wearing a Tampa Bay Buccaneers jersey were all over social media. And folks, if you're a Patriots fan, it's tough to take. None of us want to believe it's true, but it is. According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, Tom's new contract with Tampa Bay will pay him up to $30 million on a per-year basis.

Rappaport confirmed this morning that the contract has been agreed to, it is finalized, so if any of you were holding out hope that at the 11th hour Tom might pull a Josh McDaniels and say, guess what, I'm not going to leave, folks, doesn't appear to be happening. As of 4 p.m. Eastern this afternoon, March 18th, Tom Brady will be the new quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. So because it's Wednesday here on the Locked On Patriots podcast, and one of the ways I look to clear out my angst is through some alliteration, I decided to declare this a What Happened Wednesday. How did it get to the point where Tom Brady, the cornerstone of the

New England Patriots franchise, the greatest quarterback to ever live, the indelible face of the New England Patriots, and arguably the indelible face of Boston sports, be allowed to walk away? Especially when Tom still had something left in the tank, and the team apparently thought he did too. What happened? Well, when I want answers, I go to my source of all knowledge. That's right, folks. The green man himself, Thomas Murphy, will be joining me in the hot seat today, and we will talk Tom Brady. How did it get to this point?

Why did Tom choose Tampa? And what lies in store for your New England Patriots as they move forward now to 2020 without the knowledge that Tom Brady will be their starting quarterback for the first time in 20 years. So settle in, folks. There's a lot to cover today. I'm excited to discuss all of it and more with Murph. And as I always do, I sincerely hope that you enjoy today's podcast. But before I do so, there have been a number of comings and goings in the Patriots roster

that do not include Tom Brady. And while Brady is the news of the day, and he will continue to be for quite some time, folks, I did want to update you on the latest roster notes surrounding the Patriots. And we'll start on a good note, because Lord knows that we need one. And that is that the Patriots did make their first free agent acquisition of the offseason, and they did so on a pretty speedy wide receiver. Yesterday evening, ESPN's Mike Reese announced that the Patriots had signed former Arizona Cardinals wide receiver

Damier Beard to a one-year deal. Now, Bird is definitely not the big name that all of us in Patriots Nation were hoping for, and he's not that type of weapon wide receiver that would have kept Tom Brady around, but one thing he is, folks, and that is fast. Just to give you an example, back in 2015 at his pro day, he ran the

40-yard dash at 4.28. So he does have some ability to be a burner in the return game. He's also coming off his most productive season as a pro. Last year with the Cardinals, he had 32 receptions for 359 yards and one touchdown. So welcome to Foxborough, Demir Bird. However, that's where the good news stops, because in addition to our beloved Tom Brady, we also said goodbye to some key members of the Patriots, particularly on defense. And a lot of those familiar names will be going to familiar surroundings.

Two members of the Bill Belichick head coaching tree are stockpiling New England Patriots to fill their roster. We start with the Miami Dolphins and old friend Brian Flores. And as word of Tom Brady's departure was circulating yesterday, another one of the Patriots key free agents was headed to Florida, but this time to South Beach. And it was announced that linebacker Kyle Van Noy was expected to sign a four-year, $51 million contract with the Miami Dolphins on Monday. For the past few seasons, Van Noy has been one of the most productive

linebackers in the Patriots defense. He helped add a little bit of swagger and a lot of skill to a Patriots defense that was in desperate need little bit of swagger and a lot of skill to a Patriots defense that was in desperate need of both when he arrived. But unlike Tom, this one was expected by a lot of people, including myself. Danoy was primed to make a big payday based on his production in 2019, and the Patriots were never going to match this one. But it doesn't change the fact that this one still hurts. Kyle was a beloved Patriot on the field, his teammates loved him, and he always gave 110%. But he's really going to be missed in the community. Kyle was one of the more philanthropic Patriots I've

covered here in my tenure with the team, and I can honestly say that as a citizen and a neighbor in New England, he will be sorely missed. Ian Rappaport of the NFL Network was the one that broke the news of Van Noy's signing with the Dolphins. He also reported that $30 million of Van Noy's contract is fully guaranteed. So a big-time deal for Kyle. He deserves it, and I wish him nothing but the best. But apparently, the Dolphins weren't done shopping from the Patriots roster just yet, because this morning, it was reported that now-former Patriots center Ted Karras would indeed be signing a one-year, $4 million deal to head to Miami, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. Now, this one surprised me a little bit, because it's a relatively low number.

You figure the Patriots might have been able to match this. I thought Karras was a great fit in New England. After David Andrews was placed on IR, Karras stepped in, started 15 games, and he actually finished the season as PFF's 20th best center in the NFL. With Dante Skarnecchia retiring, and some of the question marks surrounding Andrews' health this year, I thought it would have made sense to keep Ted around. But this may be a further indication that the Patriots are looking to lock up Joe Tooney long term. But instead, he heads to Miami, and that makes two former Patriots chalked up by Brian Flores. But another

former Patriots defensive coordinator said to Brian Flores, I'll see your two Patriots, and I'll raise you three. That's right, folks. Matt Patricia and the Detroit Lions will employ three new faces that called Foxborough home in 2019. The first is linebacker Jamie Collins, who signed a three-year, $30 million deal with Detroit on Tuesday. Now, this one definitely hurts the Patriots' defense, folks, because losing both Van Noy and Collins in that linebacking core is going to put a lot of pressure on guys like Juwan Bentley and Dante Hightower. This could mean that a return is going to put a lot of pressure on guys like Juwan Bentley and Dante Hightower. This could mean that a return is in store for a Landon Roberts,

but we haven't heard anything on that yet. As for Collins, he gets reunited with Matt Patricia, good system for him to be able to shine, and a pretty good payday as a result. But the Detroit Lions weren't done there yet, folks, because on Wednesday, they announced that they had signed defensive tackle Danny Shelton to a two-year deal worth $8 million, and this was broken by ESPN's Adam Schefter. Now, I think Shelton had arguably his best year as a pro this year as well. He'll be a very solid addition to the Lions defensive front, but don't think for a moment that his knowledge of the Patriot way is not what makes him very appealing to Matt Patricia at this point. So Collins and Shelton both head to Detroit via free agency, but late Wednesday morning, the Lions pulled off the trifecta. And this time,

they worked out a trade with New England for safety Duran Harmon in exchange for a swap of a late round draft pick. Now Harmon has been a consummate professional in Patriots Blue, but he did carry a pretty hefty cap number. And that's exactly what this trade looks to be. By trading Harmon, that frees up about $4.5 million in cap space for the Pats to use during free agency. And according to our resident cap guru here on Locked On Patriots, the very best in the business at it, and my good friend Miguel Benzon, the Patriots will have approximately $7.1 million available

when free agency begins and the league year commences at 4 p.m. on Wednesday. And from the looks of things, folks, they're going to need that cap space because Tuesday and Wednesday made it in with the Bird and out with the Van Noy, Collins, Harmon, Shelton, and Karras. And oh yeah, that Brady guy, you know, the one that's been pretty good for us for the last two decades, yeah, he's going too, folks. So folks, that brings us all back to the question of the day, and that is what happened? Well, fear not, folks, because in just a moment, I'll welcome in my good friend Thomas Murphy, and we'll not only tell you what happened, but what will happen in New England. However, before I proceed with that, if you've been a listener of this podcast, I'm sure you've heard all of the great advertisers working with Locked On to reach sports fans.

But you may not know that Locked On Patriots is a great way for your local business to reach sports fans. But you may not know that Locked On Patriots is a great way for your local business to reach passionate Patriots fans just like you. Unlike any other podcast, Locked On gives your local company the unique ability to reach local podcast listeners. Not just any podcast listener, a Locked On Patriots podcast listener. If your company wants to connect with Patriots fans

and a predominantly male audience that is well-educated with disposable income, then let's put your company right here on this Locked On Podcast. Local fans love to support local businesses. Text the word advertising to 33777 or visit lockedonpodcast.com slash advertising and let us know who you are. We'll get our team to help your team achieve Locked On advertising success. Once again, text the word advertising to 33777 or visit LockedOnPodcast.com slash advertising. We look forward to hearing from you.

Patriots fans, we may have never needed some green wisdom and counsel as much as we do right now. Tom Brady is a buccaneer, and me, folks, I just want to hide under my bucking hat. So in that regards, who else could take to the Lockdown Patriots airwaves with me then? That's right, everyone. Your favorite and mine, my benefactor in this business, the legendary Thomas Murphy is back here on Lockdown Patriots. Thank you for joining me today, Don Murph. Oh, and thank you for throwing that bucking hat comment out while I was not

drinking coffee. That was great. You know, my dad used to tell a joke years ago, Murph, about that, about a young boy that's trick-or-treating, you know, the little Johnny jokes. That was a joke that he told for years.

You know, oh, he's dressed up like a pirate, and the woman comes along. Oh, what a nice pirate, and where are your buccaneers? Under my buccaneer hat, lady. Give me my candy. And I just had to throw that in there, and I figured what better guest, what better way to do it than with you. And I think somewhere up there my dad's smiling on that. But I'll tell you what he's not smiling about.

And that is the news of the day. And we're going to get into that in just a moment. I should say this, my friend. That embroidered director's chair that I promised you last time, it is still coming. It's in transit. Some delivery problems out there right now in the times that we live in. But you know you're not just a guest. You are family to me.

And sometimes we need that familia perspective. And we're going to to talk some tom today buddy uh so let's dive into it uh your column yesterday for diehard boston sports fans.com i think captured the essence of what a lot of patriots fans throughout the region were thinking first of all kudos on eloquently quoting from julius caesar i come not to bury Caesar, but to praise him. Legendary Mark Antony quote right there. Major, major props on that, buddy, from someone that's a Shakespearean fan and someone that holds Julius Caesar

as part of one of his best works. But there was a lot of praising yesterday, Murph. And, oh, you're welcome. And no one deserves that praise more than Tom Brady. But, Murph, honestly, and I think I speak for Patriots Nation, it's just not a consolation. All the praise in the world doesn't change the fact that Tom Brady is no longer a Patriot and he should be. So in your estimation, my friend, why isn't he? I mean, to quote the Godfather, how did things ever get so far? How did it ever get here?

And it started a couple years ago with Alex Guerrero's banning from the locker room areas and banished out to TB12. And it's just little things and little things that keep adding up. And finally, you know, a straw that broke the camel's back, I think, was last year when Antonio Brown was sent packing. Most people think rightfully so. Tom Knott being, you know, 42 years old at the time and looking to put a capstone on his legacy. Not that anybody thinks that capstone is needed, except for Tom, and that's the bottom line. The relationship between Tom and Bill has just become so contentious. He is the man who is tired of being treated like the walk-on that is just there because somebody likes him

and he's getting water or whatever and good hustle and getting ripped in meeting rooms year after year, leaving money on the table year after year and not seeing it spent on things that are going to maybe make his legacy a little bit better. He's tired of going all in and losing the hand because the other guy sitting across the street has three deuces. That's what it is. Bridges were burned a long time ago,

and Tom is tired of jumping over that river to get to the other side. And I think that was the bottom reason. He's just had it. He's just been exhausted by the relentlessness of Bill Belichick and that after 20 years, it's just business to him. That is true. It is business. And I think that business became more of a harsh reality for Patriots fans yesterday than most were prepared for. The fact that Tom Brady, the cornerstone of the Patriots franchise, by most accounts of what was put out there yesterday, wanted to come back, the team put out word that they wanted him back, and yet he still walked away, shows that the Patriots had two numbers in mind. One being a number of years, the other being a number of his annual salary.

And they weren't going to deviate from that. There were a couple of points that you brought up, Murph, that I just wanted to expound upon a little bit. The first, you mentioned Antonio Brown. And I don't necessarily know if that was the straw that broke the camel's back, but ultimately, I think the lack of productive options at the offensive skill positions eventually is what convinced Tom that he wasn't the guy that was in the Patriots' long-term plans, and as a result, I think that made him maybe check out a little bit more than people want to realize. Of course, the wild card with Brown is that we don't know if he's even going to be eligible to play. A lot of people are talking about him possibly reuniting with Tom in Tampa. I think the jury's still out on that.

There's a lot that would need to be ironed out. But the other point that you mentioned was the banning of Alex Guerrero from the clubhouse and from team activities for a little while. We've heard this described by several people as the beginning of the friction between Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. I don't think it was friction. I think it was a disconnect. I think maybe it became evident that both of these sides were no longer on the same

page. Then you take under account Tom's contract last year and the failure to reach a two-year agreement and Tom going quote-unquote year-to-year and wanting to explore his options, not getting the franchise tag. I think all of that added up to the result that we saw yesterday morning. And again, bringing it back to what you said, Murph, it's a business. The Patriots have a business model. They're not going to deviate that for anybody, and that includes Tom Brady.

If they were going to adjust it, Tom's the guy they would have done it for. They didn't do that. And to me, that's the ocean that couldn't be crossed here. No. Again, Tom Brady is... And it works both ways. I mean, we did, we sat here and we talked about the way that they handle free agency and things like that.

You know, go out, see what's out there, and then come on back. And Tom didn't want to come on back. I really don't think... He was waiting for them to come to him. After 20 years, the greatest football player in the history of this league, in the history of this sport, was just once, just once, Bill, can you pick up the phone, come to my house, sit down for dinner, and show me a little goddamn appreciation?

Oh, God, I'm going to go off. I don't mean to go off. I'm sorry, Lockdown Murph fans. But just once, could you come and sit at my table and let me know that what I've done for you over the past 20 years was worth more than a goddamn fax or a goddamn phone call or a note saying, yeah, we gave you something he gave gave them something back in april and they came back with something else and there was there was a deal and then it was pulled off the goddamn table and oh my god just once come here and let me know that i'm appreciated stop treating me like the redheaded stepchild that everybody's talking about bringing in here to replace me this year, or just once, and Bill couldn't do that.

Yeah, and I understand your frustration, and believe me, I will get back to that in a moment. I don't want to let that just go, but switching gears for just a moment here, my friend, and that is Tom Brady becoming a Tampa Bay Buccaneer. And I know I joked earlier about the bucking hat thing, but I actually think this is a pretty good fit. For starters, Bruce Arians now becomes Tom Brady's head coach, and I think that's a good thing. He trusts his quarterbacks an awful lot. Don't forget, he's worked with Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Carson Palmer, that's just to name a few.

But Arians is the type of coach that allows his quarterbacks to have a major say in play calling. That had to be a big selling point when the two sat down about working together in the future. He does run a much more relaxed ship. I think Tom is looking forward to that in a lot of ways, but I do see some people out there that are saying that because Arians likes to air it out and throw the deep ball, that this may not be a good fit for Tom Brady. I don't believe that's the case, and I'll explain why. Last season, Tom had very few receivers that could gain separation under any circumstances. Even so, he still completed 26 of 67 deep attempts, 749 yards, 7 touchdowns, 3 picks, but a passer rating of 97.2. That's not a bad stat line regardless. When you take a look at what he was working with, I think that makes it even more impressive. Big surprise, Julian

Edelman was his leading receiver with six deep receptions. He had 14 targets, 161 yards, and two touchdowns. The only other target he had was Philip Dorsett. Five deep catches, 192 yards, three touchdowns. Now we look at the weapons that Tom's going to have in Tampa, and they're impressive, buddy. Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Brashad Perriman, they combined last season for 30 deep receptions and 1,040 receiving yards. Now you add in Cameron Brayton, O.J. Howard at the tight end position,

and we all know how Tom loves to play in a two tight end set. He's had some experience doing that. So I think it's important for people to know that he's not going to Tampa simply because Tampa was the only team that wanted him. I think that's far from it. There were teams out there that were bidding for his services. But when I look at this, I think Tom chose Tampa for those reasons. This maximizes his ability to be the best quarterback he can be this season. And I'm a little confused as to why people continue to scoff about Tampa being his

destination. In my estimation, I think this is a pretty good fit. Am I off base here, or do you agree with me? I do. I do, 100%. You look at this depth chart. You look at the roster that they have in Tampa. This has nothing to do with money. The money that Tampa is giving him is fantastic, and that's more to blow everybody else out of the water than it is anyone else. Believe it, people. The only reason that Tom Brady is still playing this game

is to win more championships. And this roster that they have down there, take a look at the names and then go back in your way back machine and think of all the trade targets that everybody has been asking the Patriots to go out and acquire for Tom Brady over the years. And you've heard the names O.J. Howard. You've heard the names Cameron Brady. Even as soon as this year, you heard the name of Rashad Perryman, you know,

coming here to New England to give Tom. And Tom's just sitting there, well, why don't I can just go to Tampa? You know, all these great guys down there that people have been talking about bringing to New England and why Bill hasn't done it. Well, I could just go there. And believe me bruce arians is the is probably one of the nicest guys to play for in the nfl talk about two sides of the same freaking coin okay it it's it's between him and belichick this is a guy who's who's just going to say after you want to go out and get a beer you want to stop over hey tom come on by and we'll do some fishing off the back of my

houseboat and kill a 12-pack. You know, I mean, you could drink whatever, you know, TB12 says you can drink, but I'm going to drink beer. It's a great guy, and this is a good place for him to land. There are weapons here that he can use. The only thing that Tom has to worry about is whether or not they can get on the same page as him. I wrote a column a few weeks ago, or I tweeted out a column. I hate when I do that. I'm going to sit there and write something. I end up tweeting out the entire thing, and it's like, why bother writing it? But the only different thing that Tom has to worry about is the fact that the frustration that you saw in his face last year was mostly due to young players, players who are inexperienced in this Patriots system of where they're supposed to be and when they're supposed to be there, and that's how things work. Is Tom going down there to run the Bruce Arian system just to swing it back to you and what's happening, or is he going down there with an Encyclopedia

Britannica of Patriots plays that he has built over the years. Do not get it wrong, people. Tom Brady has built this offense up around over the years. It's not just Bill and it's not just whoever is playing offensive coordinator that year. Tom has had a serious hand in that. Are these players going to be able to pick up that stuff? Are they going to be able to pick up that stuff? Are they going to be able to understand Tom's verbiage? What language is going to be spoken down there in Tampa right now? And that's the question mark. That's what I'm really looking forward to seeing.

And God, looking past Tom in a Tampa Bay Buccaneers uniform, which is going to be nauseating, folks. It really is. But what's the verbiage going to be? What system is going to be run? If it's a new one, and I have no issue, just to bring it complete circle, that Tom can still throw the deep ball, that he can still do what Arians wants to do. The reason it wasn't done here is because he didn't have the personnel to do it. That's why. Forever, this Patriot system has run off of that we have every play in the book that you could possibly want to run, and we could run

any system that you possibly want to run. We just do this way because that's the people that we have. That's our best way of using, of putting people in the best situation to win. And believe me, Tom Brady can adjust to any situation. We've seen it over and over again. You know, the game plan changes every single week in New England. And that's the reason it's been so successful for so long is because this man can do that. Absolutely.

And I completely agree with you in that regard. I think logistically this is a good football fit for him. You mentioned the synergy that he could possibly have with Arians. I think that's a big part of this as well. I think you mentioned earlier about and getting back to our conversation about this, you know, being a situation where the relationship just got to a point where there had to be a break. I don't think there was necessarily the contestuous acrimony that a lot of people may want to believe. I think it was just a situation where Tom saw the handwriting on the wall. I think our

good mutual friend Tom Curran put it very eloquently yesterday. It was, I'm in the car, I'm turning into the parking lot, I turn the keys off, I have nothing else to do but open the door and walk out because the ride is over. And I think it just got to that point for both sides. One point I did want to make, and going back to to that was the logistics of this being able to be worked out financially. I think that needs to be debunked pretty quickly. I think anybody that thinks that this could not have worked financially to keep Tom in New England for at least a couple of years. I've had we, you know, spoken several times to our friend Miguel Benzana, a.k.a. Pats Gap. He joined me here yesterday, laid out a very clear and very concise scenario on how that could work. And the Patriots would still be able to free

up cap room, even with the tag with Tooney. By trading him, it still would have ended up being a wash and the Patriots still could have had room to maneuver. So this was deeper than... The Tooney move is about control. It's not about... Absolutely. It's not, you know... I'm glad, yeah. It's just control absolutely and i'm glad that you uh that you mentioned that but that to me brings it back to the relationship that tom

could possibly have with arians and i think it's something different than what he's had and in fact i know it's something different than what he's had for his entire professional career does that mean that tom brady still doesn't have the most utmost respect and admiration for Bill Belichick's ability as a coach and what he gave to him all of these years? Absolutely not. Tom would be the first to sit here, look anybody in the eye and say, I owe a lot of what I did to Bill Belichick. I think Bill would turn around and say the same about Tom, but I think unfortunately it just came to a point where both sides had to break away. And as tough as it is for Patriots fans, myself included, who I beat the Brady's coming back drum from the day that the season ended right up until yesterday when Tom released those statements, it's a pill to swallow, but I think it's a necessary pill to swallow. And,

oh man, you know, and this is a question that I really hoped I was not going to have to seriously ask you, Murph, but we closed today's show by saying that it's finally time for the Patriots to move on. And as we all do here in Patriots Nation, and for the first time in 20 years, the Pats have a major question at the quarterback position. Now, last week I spoke with Zach Blackerby, who hosts Locked On Auburn here at the Locked On Podcast Network, and we talked about Jarrett Stidham. And he was complimentary, but a little bit hesitant to turn over. Thank you very much. Yeah, Zach is a wealth of knowledge and really brought it with Jarrett. I listened to that. I was so glad to hear some of his. Thank you. I appreciate that. We appreciate the download, and I'm sure Zach does as well. But no, his impressions and his information on Jarrett from having studied him and scouted him when he was at Auburn was very eye-opening to me.

Because, again, he was complimentary, but a little hesitant to say that Jarrett is ready to take the keys to the kingdom and drive the car pretty far right now so in that regard my friend when you look at the quarterback position for the new england patriots what is the best course of action for them to take at this point and do you believe that's the course they will take moving forward um i think right now the the best course of action would be. Are we talking in terms of long-term or next year? That's what I'm, you know, confuzzled about, is to what we're doing right now. Bill has given a lot of cash to veterans returning to keep some sort of stability to the leadership in this team.

And bravo for that. That's a brilliant move if you can do it. But are we talking long term or are we talking get back to an AFC title next year? I think long-term then yes, it's see what Stidham has unless a quarterback drops to them in the first round that is just a can't miss. And even so, you know, let them give them a red shirt year. I think they're going to go with Stidham. I think that is, at this point, a very good option unless something else opens up in the free agency market. I do not want to see anybody traded for and brought in here. We've spoken before of my affinity for Teddy Bridgewater. I thought that he would fit into this system perfectly. I thought that that would,

you know, a two, three year deal for him would have worked out here, but he is, he is now, for all intents and purposes, a member of the Carolina Panthers from what I'm hearing. So, no, I would go with Stidham unless something earth shattering can happen and you could bring in somebody you know that is you know one of the top five quarterbacks in the league and that's not happening it's just not happening uh if if that was the case then then they would have gone the way that you and Miguel had talked about so eloquently yesterday and figured out a way to uh to keep Tom here money wise and to let him know that, you know, yeah, a few things are going to change around here during your twilight years

in the NFL. And quite frankly, that wasn't going to happen, and that's why Tom isn't here right now. But no, I think they like Stidham. They like what he's shown in meeting rooms or wherever. They're seeing something that I have not. I do not love Jared Stidham. I did not love the pick when it was made. And unless Josh Rosen is released by Miami, I'm still on it.

He's still the best quarterback that was in that draft. And me and Mark Schofield will die on that on that hill alone if we need to unless josh brooks in his relief that's it yeah absolutely depending on what happens down in miami which will be an interesting situation as we head toward the draft uh you have to wonder if that becomes a possibility and do the patriots bite on it um not a lot of indications that they will. I tend to agree with you. I think right now, I think that's the course of action they're going to take unless something presents itself where the Patriots feel it's in their best interest

to either make a move or to make a signing. If one of these players happens to be pried loose as a cap casualty, then I think you'll see the Patriots entertain that. If not, I think we may see Jared Stidham as the starting quarterback this year. And of course, here on Locked On, Patriots will continue to monitor that situation and continue to bring you a little bit more. I'm doing a lot more homework that I've ever done on Jared. I've watched a good amount of film on him last year after he was drafted. I went on record when Zach was on the show last week and said that I had scouted him. I'd looked at him a little bit, but I actually did not ever mock him or really seriously consider the fact that the Patriots may put him in the lineup.

And Zach did. Zach actually had had looked at him as a potential Patriots quarterback and gave his explanation as to why. We'll see now if he was right and we'll see now what the Patriots did and gave his explanation as to why we'll see now if he was right. And we'll see now what the Patriots did see in him. And, you know, barring any unforeseen circumstances, number four has now been given the keys to, to the kingdom.

And I don't know, it still just doesn't feel right. It still just doesn't. No, it doesn't. It doesn't. And I'm just, I'm laying this at the feet of,

of Bob craft and of Bill Belichick. And that's just the way it's going to be. That's the way I'm going to feel for the rest of my days. That they could have made this situation not a situation. You know, how did we ever let it get this far? And Bob Kraft could have easily done that. But he's put his eggs into what I feel is the coaching basket and the GM basket that is Bill Belichick and not Tom Brady. I think he was given an ultimatum. It's one or the other, and he chose Bill. Yeah, ultimately, I mean, we'll see if that decision does end up working out for the Patriots in the long run,

or we'll see if this 20-year run that we've had is it for New England for quite some time. And one thing we can agree on, Murph, is that what we've seen the last 20 years, we will never see again in New England. We'll never see it again in the NFL I don't think we'll ever see it again in professional sports the way the landscape is parity and guys switching teams constantly will prevent this type of dominance that we've seen it truly was a great run and I still can't believe it's over here in New England but you know we look forward to the next step as brady now look for looks forward to his next one murph you lend your wisdom and counsel like no other that's why you are a brother to me you are a fixture here at locked on patriots i thank you for joining me today folks again you should be

already but for any of our new listeners follow the man on twitter at teamer 207 the columns including the monster keys during the season, his Brady column, again, eloquently quoting Julius Caesar. Can't recommend reading that high enough. If you are a Patriots fan, you can probably find... The best part of the whole article is just the quote. Oh, it's... No, no, no, no, no. It goes a lot deeper. And if you're a

Patriots fan feeling a little bit of scorn right now, this, I promise you, will make you feel a little bit better. You can find all of the man's great work on diehardbostonsportsfans.com Must reads and never miss an episode of the One Patriots Place podcast, my favorite podcast

in Pat's nation, co-hosted by this man and another great friend here of Locked On Patriots, my good friend Steve Balistrieri. Thank you again, my good man. Honored and humbled by your presence as always. Anytime, buddy. I'm always here.

Thank you. Take care, Murph. So in the final analysis, folks, Murph and I gave our best attempt to explain exactly what happened in Foxborough over the course of the last 24 to 48 hours. Did we completely answer the question? Probably not.

That question will continue to be answered each and every day here on the Locked On Patriots podcast. But did we scratch the surface and maybe a little below it? I think we did. Bottom line is that by the time you listen to this podcast, Tom Brady will most likely be an official member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But like Tom put in the heading of his social media post yesterday, he will forever be a

Patriot. And tomorrow here on Locked On Patriots, I'll be joined by a very special guest that will help me relive some of the greatest moments in Tom Brady's Patriots tenure. And over the course of 20 years, six championships, there's a lot to cover there, folks. So please be sure to join me each and every day here on the Locked On Patriots podcast. Subscribe and download via your preferred podcast provider. And don't forget, you can always listen on your smart device

just by asking it to play the latest episode of Locked On Patriots. And courtesy of our friends over at the Locked On NBA channel, for a limited time, Postmates is giving our listeners $100 of free delivery credit for your first seven days. To start your free deliveries, download the Postmates app and use the promo code LOCKEDONNBA. Once again, I'm Mike DeBate. I thank Thomas Murphy for his time, his insight, and his appearance today.

But most of all, I thank you all so much for listening and for staying locked into Locked On Patriots. And if you've enjoyed today's podcast, now tell your smart device to play the most recent episode of Draft Dudes. Stay safe, stay healthy, and have a great day, everyone.