What if Tom Brady had landed somewhere besides with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers?
When news of Tom Brady's end in New England made waves throughout the NFL, many NFL teams saw their ears perk up. For a short time, many NFL franchises dreamt of what would happen if Tom Brady landed with them.
Now at the end of his first year with a new team, it is clear that his ceiling was winning the Super Bowl. But what if he had landed with other teams? How would he have done?
Tom Brady's lucky three
#1 - San Francisco 49ers
In landing with Tampa Bay, it was clear that Tom Brady wanted a few things. First, he wanted to land somewhere with offensive hope. He had just left New England, which was famous for its lack of offensive weapons.
Next, he wanted to land somewhere ready to win a Super Bowl. In winning a Super Bowl with a team who had not won one for a while, he would only be adding to his legacy.
Last, he wanted to go somewhere warm year-round. He landed in Tampa Bay, which hovers between the 70s and 80s year-round. However, if Tom Brady had to choose between a Super Bowl and nice weather, he would definitely go with a Super Bowl.
San Francisco had offensive hopes with Kyle Shanahan. Shanahan is widely believed to be an offensive mastermind. His offense helped Matt Ryan win an MVP en route to a Super Bowl appearance.
If he were to have gotten Tom Brady, the team would have gone to the Super Bowl for a second-straight season, defeating the Kansas City Chiefs.
While the 49ers did not have too great of an offense at the skill positions, his landing with Kyle Shanahan would have attracted more than a few free agents. Rob Gronkowski would have come out of retirement to play here.
#2 - Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts were looking for a quarterback after the sudden retirement of Andrew Luck in 2019.
They had to lean on Jacoby Brissett for a season before landing Phillip Rivers in 2020, who put together a respectable final season when he went 11-5. During the season, he threw 24 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
Even at 44 years old, Tom Brady could have gone 13-3 with the same roster. He may have even won a Super Bowl for the team, the first since Peyton Manning's prime.
While the Colts do not have the same offensive roster as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they still had a servicable one. Tom Brady would not have matched his 40 touchdowns and 12 interceptions last season had he been a Colt, but he could have gotten around 30 touchdowns.
He showed he can beat Patrick Mahomes, so had they met in another AFC championship game, he would have emerged victorious to take on the Green Bay Packers. That's because he would never have been on the Buccaneers, who ended up facing the Packers in the NFC championship game.
The Packers would have made the Super Bowl and possibly kept Rodgers from his current holdout. If Tom Brady stayed in the AFC, it might have been a quiet offseason for the Green Bay Packers.
#3 - Los Angeles Rams
Looking back, the Los Angeles Rams should have been cooling on Jared Goff behind the scenes going into last season. Otherwise, they would not have traded him almost as soon as the season ended. They knew this was Goff's last shot.
But if Tom Brady had been easily attainable, they would have jumped at the chance to replace Goff with Brady.
With Sean McVay and Tom Brady at the helm, the Los Angeles Rams would have likely won the Super Bowl. With Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods on one side and Aaron Donald, Jalen Ramsey, and Darious Williams on the other, it may have been easier than it was with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Tom Brady would have had offensive hope in Los Angeles, great weather and the ability to win a Super Bowl for a team that had not seen one in about 20 years. Put simply, he could have easily matched his 40 touchdowns and 12 interceptions with this squad and won a Lombardi.