Can We Just Stop With the Tom Brady Rumors Already?

Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback in NFL history and he's a free agent for the first time in his career. I get that people are interested in whether or not he'll finally leave the New England Patriots, but can we please just stop throwing ridiculous rumors out there? This has been going on for months and it needs to end.

A few months ago, the Los Angeles Chargers were thrown out as the front-runner for Brady's services in what was an absurd suggestion. The idea that Brady would choose to play for Dean Spanos and Anthony Lynn over returning to ply his trade under Robert Kraft and Bill Belichick was insane. Plus, he'd be playing 16 road games if he was suiting up for the Chargers. It was dumb then and it's dumb now.

The Las Vegas Raiders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tennessee Titans have also been connected to Brady at one time or another. Now this week we've got some crazy rumors that the San Francisco 49ers could swap in Brady for the young quarterback who just led them to Super Bowl. Yes, there is now a suggestion that the 49ers will dump Jimmy Garoppolo to bring in a declining, 42-year-old signal-caller.

Just stop.

This has gotten ridiculous. Brady is still highly likely to return to the Patriots. It's the move that makes the most sense for both teams. He knows the system, is tight with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, the team is run to his standards and the franchise is used to his ways. It's still a perfect fit that hasn't changed since the end of the 2019 season.

If he goes somewhere else, it'll be a massive story, but none of these rumors have risen to the level of actual "news." This is all speculation based on whispers and supposition. The only person who benefits from all this is Brady, so it's not hard to imagine his team is leaking stuff to reporters as they hope to jack up the price for a return to the Patriots.

It's silly that every day has brought a new breathless story about where he could land. No one knows what's going to happen and we should all be skeptical of anyone who says they're sure of anything.