Video: Tony Dungy Thinks Tom Brady Best Fits with Colts If He Leaves Patriots

Tom Brady might follow Peyton Manning's blueprint of leaving the only franchise he's ever known to finish his historic NFL career elsewhere.

Peyton Manning departed from the Indianapolis Colts to spend four years with the Denver Broncos, punctuated with a Super Bowl 50 title.

Tony Dungy, who coached Manning in Indianapolis from 2002 to '08, thinks Brady should join the Colts if he doesn't re-sign with the New England Patriots.

"Worse comes to worst, I think Tom will do that. He'll go somewhere else and set a very high standard," Dungy told Rich Eisen on the Rich Eisen Show Tuesday. "Crazy as it sounds, the best spot might be Indianapolis. Believe it or not. I know they've been bitter rivals, but there's no established quarterback there, and they've got a lot of weapons."

Brady has spent his whole 20-year career with the Patriots, winning an all-time-record six Super Bowls.

Brady's 20th season ended with a thud in last weekend's Wild Card Round. The sixth-seeded Tennessee Titans upset the third-seeded Patriots 20-13, and the 42-year-old quarterback's final throw of the season resulted in a pick-six by Logan Ryan. 

"I love the Patriots," Brady, who is set to become a free agent this offseason, told reporters after Saturday's loss. "It's the greatest organization. Playing for Mr. [Robert] Kraft all these years, and for Coach [Bill] Belichick, there's nobody who's had a better career, I would say, than me—just being with them. So I'm very blessed. I don't know what the future looks like, so I'm not going to predict it."

When pressed on whether he is considering retiring, Brady responded that retirement is "pretty unlikely."

Brady expounded on that to NBC Sports' Peter King: I'll explore those opportunities whenever they are. If it's the Patriots, great. If that doesn't work, I don't know. I just don't know. I love playing football. I still want to play football. I think I still can play at a championship level. I've just got to go do it. I'm motivated to get back to work and training."

Patriots owner Kraft also opened up to King about the fluid situation, saying his "hope and prayer" is that Brady either plays for the Patriots or retires.

However, the thought that a competitor like Brady would retire if New England decides to go in a younger direction with a pick-six as the last pass he ever threw in the NFL seems rather unlikely.

And so, Dungy floated the Colts as an alternative. 

Indianapolis was put in an unexpectedly uncertain position when 2012 top overall pick Andrew Luck announced his retirement at 29 years old in August.

Jacoby Brissett stepped into the starting role and mostly underwhelmed for the 7-9 Colts. The 27-year-old posted 2,942 yards, 18 touchdowns and six interceptions on a 60.9 completion percentage across 15 starts. 

"The jury is still out," Colts general manager Chris Ballard told reporters on Jan. 2. "That's why we did the short-term deal with Jacoby. One, to give us some security that we had a player we knew we liked and could go forward with. But also, two, to give us time to figure out if he is the guy or not."

"Would he acquire Brady despite those 2015 [Deflategate] shenanigans?" Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star posed on Sunday. "Of course he would—Ballard wants to win, and Brady wouldn't be a locker room leper—with three caveats, all of which are unknown: One, does Ballard consider Brady an upgrade over Brissett? And (two) would Tom Brady actually leave the Patriots in free agency, then (three) choose to play for the franchise he cheated in the 2015 AFC Championship Game?"

In terms of completion percentage, Brissett (60.8) and Brady (60.9) ranked 26th and 27th, respectively, among 32 qualified starters, per Pro Football Reference. The signal-callers were also interchangeable in touchdown percentage (Brissett, 4.0; Brady, 3.9) and QBR (Brady, 52.5; Brissett, 52.1).

The question is what kind of Brady the Colts, or any quarterback-needy franchise, would be signing.