Last week, TE Rob Gronkowski confirmed he's returning to the Patriots this coming season. This week, QB Tom Brady did the same.
During an hour-long interview at the Milken Institute in Santa Monica, Calif. yesterday, Brady told the attendees that he will be playing in 2018.
"I want to [play] for as long as I can," said Brady, who added that, while he still wants to play into his mid-40s, he also needs to spend more quality time with his wife and children. "I've talked two [more] years with my wife. I negotiated that thus far. I've still got a little further to go… as long as I'm playing at a very high level.
"[I'll step away] when I know that I can't contribute in the way that my team needs me to contribute. We're not trying to go 8-8. We're trying to win the Super Bowl. And when you're trying to win the Super Bowl, it's a championship-level effort, a championship-level commitment that it takes. And I've got to be willing to give that, and I still want to do it, and I'm still committing to that, and I think I can still do it. So, in that case, [we'll] try to go out there and do it again."
TB12 addressed numerous other topics, including if he knows why cornerback Malcolm Butler didn't play in Super Bowl LII.
"No, I haven't gone and discussed those things... I don't ask... I don't make the decisions. I wish he would have played, but the coach decided not to play him, and we still had a chance to win."
With regard to his relationship with head coach Bill Belichick, Brady declared, "He's very fascinating to me… he is [a football genius]… He's very respectful to me, too. We've had a great relationship, a very respectful relationship, for a long time. I feel like he's the best coach in the history of the NFL. He has a management style that, he would say, 'I'm not the easiest coach to play for,' and I would agree, but he's the best for me."
It's the biggest Patriots-related story of the day this Tuesday, so, do yourself a favor and watch the entire interview, to gain the full context of Brady's revealing remarks.
Meanwhile, you may recall last offseason, when a Dolphins receiver predicted that Miami would beat New England twice in 2017. It only happened once last season, but now, a Jets receiver is taking that bold prediction a step further, saying New York and its new rookie quarterback can dethrone the Patriots in the AFC East.
"I think they're vulnerable... not only are they vulnerable, I think we’re capable this year," Quincy Enunwa asserted. We'll see.
