Tom Brady to Indy? NFL Insider urges Jim Irsay to forget Deflategate and sign Buccaneers QB in 2023
Tom Brady will be a free agent at the conclusion of the 2022-2023 season. It's unclear whether he'll be back with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next season. While the 45-year-old could retire and work as an analyst for Fox Sports, he appears to want to play at least one more season. According to NFL insider Peter King, there is one possible destination for next season.
In a recent interview, King urged Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay to sign the quarterback for the upcoming season. According to King, there are resentments between Brady, the Colts, and the New England Patriots organization.
King said:
“The Colts had a chance [to sign Brady during the 2020 offseason], but the Colts said no. So, now the question is, with a more desperate Colts team, would Chris Ballard and Jim Irsay say all is forgiven for Josh McDaniels and Deflategate and welcome in Tom Brady for a year."
Josh McDaniels was hired by the Indianapolis Colts to be their next head coach two days after Super Bowl 52 on Feb. 6, 2018. The night before the Colts' press conference to announce McDaniels as their new head coach, he backed out of his verbal agreement. McDaniels chose to remain with the Patriots as offensive coordinator.
For Irsay and Colts fans, the AFC Championship game in the 2014 - 2015 season versus the Patriots is still fresh in their minds.
The Tom Brady Deflategate scandal that took the NFL by storm
Deflategate is a scandal in which Tom Brady and the Patriots deflated footballs against the Colts in the AFC Championship game. The game-used ball was tested at halftime of the game, which was unheard of at the time. A years-long investigation and legal war developed as a result. An over 250-page report from the NFL found the Patriots responsible for the incident.
Brady was claimed to be "at least generally aware" of a plan to deflate the footballs at the time. That same report said former Patriots equipment managers Jim McNally and John Jastremski were connected to a deliberate plot to deflate footballs.
The report showed a timeframe of 1 minute and 40 seconds when McNally took permitted game footballs into the bathroom. This happened ahead of the AFC title game and was the supposed time and place of the deflation. Per the report, McNally's time spent in the bathroom "was sufficient to deflate thirteen footballs using a needle."
After the Deflatgate investigation, Tom Brady was suspended for the first four games of the 2016 - 2017 season. The New England Patriots were fined $1 million and forfeited two draft picks. Years later, can the quarterback-needy move past it all and go after the greatest quarterback in NFL history? Time will tell.