Tom Brady

Patriots Talk: Will Tom Brady Retire With New England?

Will Tom Brady sign a one-day contract to retire a Patriot? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Tom Brady made it official on Tuesday. The former New England Patriots quarterback is calling it a career after 22 NFL seasons.

Even though 20 of those seasons and six of his seven Super Bowl titles came in New England, Brady didn't mention the Patriots once in his retirement announcement. He (sort of) made up for it by thanking "Patriots Nation" after the fact, but to many, the damage was already done.

Curran: Brady handed Father Time his first loss

One theory making the rounds on the Internet is Brady will sign a one-day contract to officially retire as a Patriot. That certainly would cheer up the fans who may be feeling let down by his Patriots snub, but what are the chances of it actually happening?

Our Tom E. Curran, Phil Perry, and Matt Cassel discussed on a new episode of the Patriots Talk Podacst.

Patriots Talk Podcast: Tom Brady conquered Father Time | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube

"Maybe there's that one-day contract where he wants to come back and re-sign as a Patriot," Curran said. "I think there's so much conversation about that right now that if he doesn't, then I would say, 'I'm sure Robert Kraft asked him to, and he didn't want to do it?' That would hint at something, because he was pissed when he left. And he did think it could have been prevented by ownership.

"If he says 'no thanks' on that, which I could maybe even see now that I think about it -- 'Wait, you want me to be a Patriot now but you didn't want me to be a Patriot in 2020?' That could be interesting."

Curran: Pats fans shouldn't get worked up over Brady's retirement snub... yet

Cassel fully expects the Brady-Patriots reunion to happen.

"His legacy is always going to be forever embedded as a New England Patriot," Cassel said. "That's just the fact of the matter. And so, for him to leave without a statement, I can understand why a lot of fans are questioning that. But at the end of the day, if he doesn't come back and retire a Patriot, that would be mindblowing to me."

Of course, a one-day contract would have to work both ways. Kraft and the Patriots might want to make it happen, but is it really something Brady will want to do? Phil Perry has his doubts.

"I could also see him looking at it and saying, 'Really? Do we have to do this? This is such a dog and pony show,'" Perry said. "Maybe he'll end up doing it, but I could certainly see him reacting that way too. Just, 'You guys know I love you, I love the fans.'

Maybe now he'll be pressured to release another statement acknowledging the Patriots and the fans because the reaction has been so strong. But he's a guy who his time is valuable to him. So he's going to fly to New England? He's going to sit down at a table with the Kraft family and he's going to put pen to paper and it's going to be a 15-minute thing for the cameras and he's going to fly back to wherever he wants to go? I don't know. I don't know if I can envision that."

Also discussed in this episode: Instant reaction to Tom Brady’s retirement. What should we make of Brady not mentioning the Patriots in his statement? Also, how will the departure of Josh McDaniels impact Mac Jones?

Check out the latest episode of the Patriots Talk Podcast on the NBC Sports Boston Podcast Network, or watch on YouTube.

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