The Patriots are the only team that can talk to Tom Brady about a contract right now without violating tampering rules, but a report on Thursday indicates that they haven’t been doing that.
Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald reports that the Patriots have not reached out to Brady to discuss a new contract at this point. Guregian adds, via a source, that the chances of the quarterback staying put are “not looking good.”
That’s not the only bit of reporting casting doubt on Brady remaining with the Patriots on Thursday. Jeff Darlington of ESPN reported on the air that Brady has told people close to him that it is “not happening” in New England and that he expects to go somewhere else to continue his playing career.
There’s still a good bit of time to go before any move to another team can happen, which means there’s also a good bit of time for the Patriots and Brady to get together about a new pact once they know where things stand with the Collective Bargaining Agreement. That won’t matter if Brady is set on hitting the open market for the first time in his career, of course, and we’re inching closer to finding out if that’s the case.