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Could Brett Favre had influenced Tom Brady’s decision to leave the New England Patriots for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this offseason? Well, I’m not saying all the blame should be dropped on Favre, but, based off of what the Packers legend recently said, some Pats fans could cast some hate his way.
According to Favre himself, when he and Brady were together at Super Bowl 54 being honored for the NFL 100 team, the iconic quarterbacks got to talking. Naturally, it wasn’t about what they had for dinner the night prior, but, obviously, what Brady was thinking about as he headed towards free agency. While TB12 didn’t reveal any specific plans nor, per Brett Favre, offer up any hints at which team he might end up with, Favre did say that Brady asked for his opinion — and the ol’ gunslinger openly campaigned for Brady to “go for it.”
While talking to SiriusXM NFL Radio Wednesday, the Hall of Fame signal-caller detailed parts of his conversation with Tom Brady from the Super Bowl festivities, and offered up his opinion about why the GOAT had every right to leave Belichick and New England if he still thinks he can play at a high level.
Per Pro Football Talk:
“I spoke to Tom briefly at the Super Bowl,” Brett Favre said Wednesday on SiriusXM NFL Radio. “They did the Top 100 and we had a chance to visit a little bit. I didn’t say, ‘What are you gonna do?’ I just said, ‘Hey, if you’re thinking about going elsewhere,’ I said, ‘Go for it.’ And he asked me, if I had it to do over again would I do it the same way. And I would.”
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“More than likely [Brady] will enhance his legacy, if anything,” Favre said. “Look, it’s his prerogative first of all, what he wants and can do. What he’s done I don’t think we’ll see in the next two generations. It’s almost impossible what he accomplished. He’s just that good. Why fault a guy for wanting to try his hand somewhere else? He still feels like he can play. I certainly think he can play at the highest of levels.”
As someone who went through something similar himself with the Green Bay Packers in 2008 — who ousted him in favor of Aaron Rodgers — Brett Favre knows a thing or two about the situation Brady was going through: Retire a legend with one team, or think about playing elsewhere. While Favre initially retired, he did find himself on the New York Jets months later, and, eventually, ended up on the Minnesota Vikings for a couple of seasons. The quarterback didn’t seem to have any regrets about his choice to suit up for another franchise, either, and thinks Brady has a chance to be more successful than he was after he left Green Bay.
“It wasn’t as successful as I’d hoped in New York but I’m glad I had that opportunity,” Favre said. “His situation obviously is different than mine. There’s no reason to think they didn’t want him back in New England, it would be dumb not to, and I know they wanted him back. But I think he just wanted to try his hand at something else and, knowing he can still play, just see if he can do the magic that he’s done with New England with another team. I certainly think he can. And I do think it is a good fit for him. I think they have a very good team and they are much better now. And adding [Rob] Gronkowski only makes them even better.”
All of this echoes some of Brett Favre’s previous comments about Tom Brady’s free agency this offseason, as he praised No. 12 for still being “as good as ever” despite his age (42). Favre also mentioned how Brady held all the leverage heading into free agency, and, ultimately, it sounds like TB12 may have paid close attention to that advice in his choice to bolt Foxborough for Tampa Bay.
Although Favre was in full support of Tom Brady exploring other options, another Hall of Fame quarterback, Terry Bradshaw, fired shots at Brady for leaving New England, so not everyone was in full support of the decision. Guess we’ll just have to wait to see how this all plays out.