AFC East Rumors: Patriots, Brady, Jets
The Tom Brady extension is smart, but also risky for the Patriots, Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports opines. With the new deal, the Patriots will be able to lower Brady’s 2019 cap hit and gain flexibility in the coming year. And, with voidable salaries, the new pact will allow the team to avoid committing to an age-43 Tom Brady before seeing what he looks like at the age of 42.
On the flipside, the deal cancels out the team’s ability to franchise tag the quarterback in February. So, if Brady continues to perform at a high level, he’ll have lots of leverage with the Patriots, as well as interest from a boatload of teams in free agency.
Here’s more from the AFC East:
- Some league executives are suspicious of the new deal between the Brady and the Patriots, given the fact that Brady punted on a fully-guaranteed salary in 2014 that was on the verge of vesting, Mike Sando of The Athletic writes. Sando points to the Broncos’ mini-scandal of yesteryear when John Elway and Terrell Davis deferred $29MM in salary to lessen the team’s immediate cap hit in exchange for receiving the money with interest at a later date. To be clear – there’s no concrete proof of misdeeds between the Pats and Brady, but some folks in the football world are raising their eyebrows.
- After the Jets lured Ryan Kalil out of retirement, could they swing another big offensive line move by acquiring Redskins left tackle Trent Williams? That’s what many fans are wondering, but Rich Cimini of ESPN.com would be surprised if that happens. The Jets, he feels, should save their bullets for improving the cornerback situation, rather than upgrading from Kelvin Beachum.
- The Dolphins have a closer-than-expected quarterback race between Ryan Fitzpatrick and newcomer Josh Rosen.
Latest On Patriots, Tom Brady
The report of Tom Brady‘s through-2021 extension being made possible through the inclusion of two void years is accurate, leading the Patriots iconic quarterback into a de facto contract year. Brady will be headed toward 2020 free agency.
On Monday, more information emerged on this extension/2019 pay raise. Brady’s contract includes a provision the Patriots cannot place their franchise or transition tag on Brady in 2020, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The void years kick in on the final day of the 2019 league year, sending Brady to free agency for the first time.
While it is difficult to imagine the future Hall of Fame quarterback changing teams, this extension-in-name-only development certainly will make Brady’s status more interesting (should he decide to play next season).
Brady has obviously never hit free agency, and it still seems likely he will not next year. This contract can be renegotiated before the 2020 league year begins next March, with Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reporting the Patriots constructed a deal that is not categorized as one that cannot be adjusted for a calendar year. So, odds are we will hear about another Brady contract before free agency.
Brady’s 2019 pay increases to $23MM, and SI.com’s Albert Breer notes (via Twitter) the Patriots got there by giving their 20th-year quarterback a $20.25MM signing bonus and $1.75MM base salary. The other $1MM comes through 16 $62.5MM per-game roster bonuses. The Pats saved $5.5MM in cap space.
The Patriots are going into an 18th Week 1 with Brady as their starter. The parties have formed one of the greatest partnerships in American sports history, with Brady’s unparalleled longevity and Bill Belichick‘s perennially top-end defenses powering the Patriots to six Super Bowl championships. This mutually beneficial setup would seemingly stand to continue into 2020, with the Patriots having yet to identify a true Brady successor since trading Jimmy Garoppolo. But Brady is entering uncharted territory as a 42-year-old full-time starting quarterback.
With Brady voyaging into (essentially) a walk year for the first time, this season does not feature as much certainty as the Pats’ most recent post-Garoppolo campaign did. As Florio points out, a quarterback-needy team could promise Brady an offseason windfall to lure him away from New England. Considering the discounts Brady has taken in recent years, a separation from the Patriots to close his career would be quite the development.
Latest On Tom Brady, Patriots
The full breakdown of Tom Brady‘s latest Patriots contract is not yet available, but one piece of language in the deal points to the sides needing to readdress this issue in several months.
The two additional years on Brady’s deal are void years, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). This is a tactic teams use to create additional cap space, and it ended up proving the Pats more than $5MM in additional 2019 funds. It essentially means Brady’s new contract amounts to a 2019 pay raise — an $8MM bump. After that, one of the longest unions in NFL history becomes less clear.
Brady and the Patriots have expressed flexibility to talk contract again next year, and Michael Giardi of NFL.com tweets the future Hall of Fame passer is “perfectly content” playing on a year-to-year basis. But the sides will need to do so to ensure the New England icon plays another season with the Patriots. Brady has repeatedly said he would like to play into his mid-40s, and Robert Kraft said during Super Bowl LIII week he would be “quite surprised” if Brady wasn’t the Patriots’ starting quarterback for “quite a while.”
The Saints used the void tactic in Drew Brees‘ most recent contract adjustment and incurred more 2020 dead money in doing so. Both the Patriots and Saints are annually committed to Super Bowl runs, so it is not surprising to see the franchises make moves to better their situations this year. Whether the Patriots make another move to further bolster their 2019 team remains to be seen.
They have been connected to Trent Williams, with Jeff Howe of The Athletic noting (subscription required) the team has explored a deal for the Washington left tackle. The Pats’ 2018 first-round pick and projected left tackle starter, Isaiah Wynn has not yet participated in a full camp practice. Wynn tore an Achilles’ tendon during training camp last year. And the subject of a Rob Gronkowski unretirement has continually surfaced in recent weeks. That would be another obvious place where the Pats’ new money could go.
More Details On Tom Brady Extension
Tom Brady will continue his streak of not playing games on an expiring contract, having agreed to a long-rumored extension Sunday. Details and fallout are still emerging from New England. Here is the latest on the Patriots’ now-42-year-old quarterback:
- If viewed strictly through and AAV lens, Brady’s deal is on par with Russell Wilson‘s. The 20th-year quarterback’s contract is, on the surface, a two-year pact worth $70MM, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Brady will earn $23MM in 2019, $30MM in 2020 and $32MM in 2021 — what would be his age-44 season. However, guarantees are murky here. And this deal may well be redone yet again soon. Both Brady and the Patriots are amenable to adjusting this contract, Rapoport adds, creating a year-to-year scenario for the passer pushing the limits of quarterback longevity.
- Brady’s agreement creates $5.5MM in additional Pats cap space, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. This would push the Pats north of $14MM in available funds. It would help make room for a possible left tackle trade, with some around the league believing Trent Williams is on the defending Super Bowl champions’ radar, or a Rob Gronkowski midseason return. Or, the Patriots could simply carry over this space to help with Brady’s 2020 cost.
- But much like Drew Brees‘ mid- and late-2000s statuses, it is likely we will hear about Brady’s contract each subsequent offseason. This deal does not ensure Brady will retire a Patriot, Tom Curran of NBC Sports Boston writes. The sides being amenable to renegotiating this accord will almost certainly mean the Patriots will attempt to do that in March, to avoid a $30MM cap hit next year, Curran adds. This merely allowed the Pats to save face by giving Brady a deserved 2019 raise and avoid a franchise tag impasse with one of the greatest players in NFL history, with Curran adding the Pats can still back out of this next year.
Patriots, Tom Brady Agree To Contract Extension
The Patriots and future Hall-of-Fame quarterback Tom Brady have agreed to a contract extension, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (via Twitter). Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets that it’s a two-year pact, and he reports that Brady will earn $23MM this year (which is an $8MM raise over what he was scheduled to make). Rapoport adds in a separate tweet that Brady will take home $30MM in 2020 and $32MM in 2021, but both sides are amenable to adjusting those payouts if necessary. Essentially, then, the Patriots and Brady are going year-to-year at this point.
Brady, who celebrated his 42nd birthday Saturday, was scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency next year. There was never any chance that he would play for someone other than the Pats, but reports just two days ago suggested that the two sides were willing to let the situation play out and to wait until 2020 to address Brady’s future with the team.
After years of giving hometown discounts to the Patriots, some have suggested that Brady may not be feeling as generous this time around. After all, we are not too far removed from rumblings of discord in Foxborough, but the most recent reports of tension between player and team appear to have been overblown.
Indeed, Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network tweets that contract talks escalated quickly once training camp began, which is in keeping with prior negotiations between the two sides. Two of Brady’s five previous re-ups have been agreed to after training camp began.
Brady has long said that he wants to play until his mid-40s, and though he finally started to show some chinks in the armor last year, his new contract will run through his age-44 season (assuming neither Brady nor New England want to get out of the deal before then).
The Pats do not currently have a long-term successor in place, which may have incentivized the team to get something done quickly.
ESPN’s Field Yates was the first to report that a deal between Brady and the Patriots was close (Twitter link).
Josh Gordon Applies For Reinstatement
Josh Gordon is looking to get back on the field. Sources tell veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer that the Patriots wideout has filed for reinstatement from suspension (Twitter link).
Back in December, Gordon was suspended indefinitely for violating terms of his reinstatement under the substance abuse policy. We learned at the time that Gordon’s drug use went beyond marijuana, an indication that the troubled receiver was dealing with issues that were much bigger than football. We know that the 28-year-old was at a rehabilitation clinic for at least part of the offseason, and if he’s looking to make an immediate return to the field, we can only assume that he’s clean.
The Patriots retained Gordon‘s rights on via RFA tender earlier this offseason, and the suspended wide receiver was recently spotted training with Tom Brady. While the defending Super Bowl champions would naturally welcome back the talented receiver, he’d have to prove to be a “better version of himself” off the field than what showed up in New England last year.
The Patriots knew the risk associated with the ultra-talented Gordon when they acquired him from the Browns in September. The rest of the league knew the risks involved as well, which is why the Pats were able to land the former All-Pro for a fifth-round pick, with a seventh-round choice coming back. Gordon’s ultimately compiled 40 catches, 720 yards, and three touchdowns across eleven games.
Even after adding Cameron Meredith yesterday, the Patriots could still use some reinforcement at wide receiver. Julian Edelman is dealing with a thumb injury while Demaryius Thomas is working his way back from the PUP list. This leaves the team with a healthy grouping that includes first-rounder N’Keal Harry, former first-rounder Phillip Dorsett, Maurice Harris, Jakobi Meyers, Braxton Berrios, and Dontrelle Inman.
Cam Meredith Placed On PUP
- Receiver Cameron Meredith landed on his feet as he signed with the Patriots earlier today, but he apparently isn’t fully healthy. New England placed him on the active/PUP list after inking him, per Doug Kyed of NESN.com. Meredith had a breakout 2016 campaign but then missed the entire 2017 season with a devastating knee injury and hasn’t been the same since. The Saints finally gave up on him and released him earlier this week after he was never able to fully recover during his time in New Orleans. Since it’s the active/PUP list and not the reserve/PUP list, Meredith could be activated at any time and resume practicing. He isn’t the only Patriots receiver that’s banged up, as the Pats are also waiting on Demaryius Thomas and Julian Edelman to heal up.
Latest On Brady's Contract Situation
A potentially important situation that has been flying a bit under the radar is Tom Brady‘s contract. The Patriots quarterback is quietly entering the final season of his deal, and there hasn’t been any word on if there’s even been any extension talks. Right now both sides appear set to let things play out, which is interesting to say the least. If they don’t get something done then, as Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com points out, New England “will have a big decision to make in early 2020.” Florio writes that the Pats will have four options, “to re-sign Brady before he becomes a free agent, whether to let him become a free agent and then try to re-sign him, whether to not even try to re-sign him at all, or whether to apply the franchise tag.”
A potentially important situation that has been flying a bit under the radar is Tom Brady‘s contract. The Patriots quarterback is quietly entering the final season of his deal, and there hasn’t been any word on if there’s even been any extension talks. Right now both sides appear set to let things play out, which is interesting to say the least. If they don’t get something done then, as Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com points out, New England “will have a big decision to make in early 2020.” Florio writes that the Pats will have four options, “to re-sign Brady before he becomes a free agent, whether to let him become a free agent and then try to re-sign him, whether to not even try to re-sign him at all, or whether to apply the franchise tag.”
Florio writes that in the franchise tag scenario, Brady would have “a ton of leverage,” since the tag would pay him $32.4MM, the most ever on a tag. Florio speculates that the Patriots could be hesitant to pay him that much, and he wonders whether Brady will be willing to again take a discount like he has in the past. He writes that “other teams may start poking around agent Don Yee to see if Brady wants to make a late-career change of venue, and they may start throwing around numbers that Brady would not be able to refuse.” It’s all speculative at this point, but it’s fascinating to think about. Bill Belichick can be stubborn, but the thought of him letting Brady walk is still pretty hard to believe.
- Speaking of Belichick and Brady’s contract, signing Brady to a new deal “that will pay him upwards of $30M for his 43- and 44-year-old seasons gives Bill Belichick the vapors,” writes Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports Boston. Curran writes that Brady wants an extension that ensures he retires with the Patriots but that “he’s been put off, mildly placated or — in the case of last year — downright disrespected with incentive-laden ‘sing for your supper’ incentive bonuses.” Curran seems to think that there’s real tension between the two sides, that Belichick isn’t too eager to commit anything major, and that Robert Kraft ultimately might end up intervening. Curran writes that his “feeling is that he’s going to let Kraft do this deal so that Belichick has plausible deniability in case Brady faceplants.” This will be an important situation to monitor moving forward.
Patriots To Sign Cameron Meredith
The Patriots are signing former Saints and Bears wide receiver Cameron Meredith, a source tells NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). It’ll be a low-cost deal for New England, but one that could have tremendous upside. 
Meredith failed to meet his high expectations in New Orleans thanks to health issues, but he’s apparently healed up from the torn ACL and assorted problems suffered towards the end of his run in Chicago.
With the Saints, Meredith had just nine receptions on the year. But, in 2016, Meredith flashed major potential with 66 grabs for 888 yards and four scores in 14 games, only ten of which were starts.
The Patriots could use someone like Meredith as Julian Edelman deals with a thumb injury and Demaryius Thomas works his way back from the PUP list. Of course, Josh Gordon also remains suspended, leaving a need for talent in the WR group.
Besides those names, the Pats’ WR depth chart includes N’Keal Harry, Phillip Dorsett, Maurice Harris, Jakobi Meyers, Braxton Berrios, Dontrelle Inman, Damoun Patterson, Gunner Olszewski, and Ryan Davis.
Patriots Meet With Cameron Meredith
Wide receiver Cameron Meredith is set to meet with the Patriots for the second time this week, according to Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The free agent met with the Patriots a couple of days ago, soon after his release from the Saints. 
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Meredith failed to meet his high expectations in New Orleans thanks to health issues, but he’s apparently healed up from the torn ACL and assorted problems suffered towards the end of his run in Chicago.
With the Saints, Meredith had just nine receptions on the year. But, in 2016, Meredith flashed major potential with 66 grabs for 888 yards and four scores in 14 games, only ten of which were starts.
The Patriots could use someone like Meredith as Julian Edelman deals with a thumb injury and Demaryius Thomas works his way back from the PUP list. Of course, Josh Gordon also remains suspended, leaving a need for talent in the WR group.