When it comes to where Tom Brady will play in 2020, Charlie Weis' guess is as good as anyone's.
But the former New England Patriots offensive coordinator has kept in touch with Brady this offseason, and he has a sense of the 42-year-old quarterback's mindset as he prepares to enter free agency for the first time in his illustrious NFL career.
Brady recently told Weis "nobody knows anything" regarding his impending free agency. So while rumors swirl about the Tennessee Titans, Las Vegas Raiders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and other teams as potential destinations, they should be taken with a grain of salt.
Appearing on The MMQB NFL Podcast with Albert Breer, Weis offered more insight about Brady one week before he officially hits the open market.
"Do I think that [Brady's] going over the alternatives in his mind? Yes ... I mean, obviously everything leads to March 18. Because with that number -- $13 million and change number -- that comes due as of the 18th if he hasn't signed by then, that number will be tagged on to whatever [the Patriots] would have to pay him afterward. I think that ship will sail at that point.
"So really, he's not really a free agent in my mind. He's still a Patriot right now. And if the Patriots are going to get this done, I believe it'll be done between now and March 18."
The $13 million Weis refers to is the dead cap hit the Patriots would take if Brady is not on the roster by March 18.
New England Patriots
Earlier this month, Brady and head coach Bill Belichick had a phone conversation that reportedly "didn't go well." Weis mentions Belichick's "all business" mentality as a factor in Brady's next move.
"Well [Brady's] a very emotional person, we've all seen ... So I mean, he's been treated very well by the fans in New England and treated very well by the Kraft family. But I think both Bill and Tommy both look at football more as a business. Both of them do. And I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. That's called reality that we're dealing with. We've seen it time and time again over the career with New England where Bill let guys go that still had gas left in the tank but he felt it was in the best interest of the team to do that. So I think that works both ways ...
"I think Tommy would love nothing more than to end up finishing up winning a championship with the New England Patriots. I think he'd love that to happen. But the reality of this is he's taken a hometown discount for a long time ... I think there will be serious talks between them and the Patriots and from my perspective, hopefully that gets it done. But if it doesn't, if he has to leave, he'll give one of those emotional thank yous and he'll move on."
Breer asked Weis how difficult it will be for Brady to recreate his current structure in New England with a new organization, and Weis fired back with a reasonable explanation for why it may intrigue Brady to explore other opportunities.
"Wouldn't that be fresh? The newness?" Weis asked. "It could be reinvigorating. That's the flipside of that ... He almost could be reinvigorated by being kind of a -- almost being put into kind of a player-coach mentality if he went somewhere else because there's going to have to be some give and take. There could be something to the newness."
The Brady Watch will certainly intensify leading up to that pivotal March 18 date. And as Weis implies, the probability of Brady staying in New England will take a significant dive if he and the Patriots cannot agree to a contract extension before then.