Last week’s out-of-the-blue blockbuster that sent quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to the 49ers served as a reminder to many that anything can happen in the NFL. For Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, the move underscored what he already knew.
“Well, there is no guarantee in the NFL,” Brady told Jim Gray of Westwood One on Monday night. “I think that’s just what I’ve seen over a long period of time. I certainly hope I play for the Patriots. I hope they want me that long.”
It’s clear that, if the Patriots don’t want him for as long as he wants to play, he’ll play elsewhere.
“Some incredible players have moved teams,” Brady said. “I don’t want it to sound that it’s impossible for me go somewhere else. That’s just not the truth. Any player can go anywhere during a particular year. That’s just how I feel. I just try to approach it in a very humble way that I try to work really hard. I try to gain the trust of my teammates, like I always have. I try to earn it day to day and I want to keep playing. I want to keep playing at a high level. Obviously, I love this team. I love the organization. I love everything about Boston. Hopefully, I can keep doing it at a really high level.”
If the 49ers had their way, they would have had Brady instead of Garoppolo, given Jay Glazer’s report that G.M. John Lynch asked about trading for Tom before ultimately trading for Jimmy.
“Well, that would have been a much shorter commute for my parents to each game,” Brady said of a possible trade to the 49ers. “They have made such an effort over the years.”
Still, Brady intends to stay put. The decision to trade Garoppolo suggests that the Patriots intend to keep him for at least the next few years. But Brady knows, as his career continues with the only NFL team for which he has played, that he could end up playing somewhere else, at some point.