New England Patriots Tom Brady said Saturday that he has yet to focus on his impending free agency, and that there have not been significant discussions with the team about his contract situation.
“The contract things, a week after the season, I would say these things haven’t even started to pick up,” Brady said in his weekly appearances on Westwood One radio. “It’s really not my concern at this point. It’s been about decompressing and resting my mind a little bit and resting my body and spending time with the people who have supported me over the last six months.
“… I have no decision that I have made, and there won’t be for some considerable time.”
Brady, 42, is set to hit free agency for the first time in his career on March 18, after his Patriots were eliminated from the postseason with a 20-13 home loss to the Tennessee Titans last Saturday.
Brady has been clear about his plans to keep playing, but he has declined to speculate on whether it will be with the team he has been with for two decades. Patriots owner Robert Kraft has said it is his “hope and prayer” that Brady either returns to New England or retires.
“I love playing football. I love playing for this organization,” Brady said Saturday. “I really don’t know what it looks like moving forward, and I’m just taking it day-to-day.
“… There is a lot of time to figure these things out. I don’t think any player or team is ready to make any commitments at this point, and I’m sure as the offseason progresses those things will take care of themselves.”
Multiple reports have said the sides have not discussed contract details since Brady signed an altered deal in August, which gave him a raise in 2019 and will automatically void in March. If he does not sign a new deal before March 18, the Patriots would incur $13.5 million in dead money on their cap for 2020, and Brady would officially become a free agent.
Brady finished the regular season having completed 60.8 percent of his passes for 4,057 yards, 24 touchdowns and eight interceptions. His completion percentage was his lowest mark since 2004, and his yards per attempt average (6.6) was his lowest since 2002. He missed out on a Pro Bowl selection for the first time since 2008, when he tore his ACL in Week 1.
A sixth-round pick in 2000, Brady has 74,571 passing yards, 541 touchdown passes and 179 interceptions in 285 career games (283 starts). He ranks behind only Drew Brees on the all-time lists for yardage (77,416) and touchdowns (547).
