Realistic Landing Spots for Tom Brady in 2020 NFL Free Agency

Tom Brady's trip to free agency has taken the NFL hostage. 

The idea that Brady could up and leave the New England Patriots and Bill Belichick as he nears the age of 43 isn't so outlandish anymore. While the free-agency gates haven't officially opened, ESPN's Jeff Darlington reported Brady is gearing up to potentially play elsewhere in 2020, and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported his representation met with other teams at the combine. 

Smoke and fire cliches abound as a result. Until the Brady domino falls, nothing else figures to happen with the quarterback market—teams in need getting a shot at arguably the best of all time tends to freeze things up fast. 

The situation shifts attention to where Brady might land. The best locales have plenty of cap space, attractive locales and, most importantly, enough support around the quarterback to let him contend for additional championships as his career winds down. 

Editor's Note (3/4): Jeff Darlington reported on ESPN's "Get Up!" show, via NBCSports.com, that there are at least eight teams "monitoring Brady's free agency" right now and Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald reported that a phone call between Tom Brady and Bill Belichick on Tuesday "did not go well." Here is a look at our choices for the best potential fits for the future Hall of Fame QB. 

Indianapolis Colts

Charles Krupa/Associated Press

Look, a possibility registering as the "strangest" doesn't mean it isn't "realistic." 

Realistic is north of $86 million in cap space with a top-15 draft pick and a roster ready to contend if the quarterback situation plays out well. 

Also known as the Indianapolis Colts. 

Those Colts unexpectedly lost Andrew Luck to retirement and didn't get much from Jacoby Brissett last season. Yet the Colts still finished 7-9 in an AFC South that sent a pair of teams to the playoffs with one of them reaching the conference title game. 

Brady wouldn't hurt for weapons in Indianapolis. He'd sit comfortably behind one of the league's best offensive lines and work with an elite deep threat (T.Y. Hilton) and a Pro Bowl tight end (Jack Doyle). Don't forget any major additions made via free agency or the draft as the Colts go all-in at winning now around Brady. 

Even so, it would feel all too weird to see Brady go to one of his rivals and home of Peyton Manning. Stranger things have happened, yes, but the factors around the Colts make it plausible. 

Los Angeles Chargers

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From the wintery throes of Foxborough to sunny California? 

That sure feels like it would fit Tom Brady the person, never mind the potential post-playing career angles available out west. 

But stick to the on-field outlook, and it makes plenty of sense. The Los Angeles Chargers have made it clear the Philip Rivers era is all the way over. That means the team sits pretty with north of $50 million in cap space, and after a down season, it also happens to sit on a top-six pick in the draft. 

Said down year might not mean much to Brady, though, considering the Chargers are a year removed from a 12-win campaign. And it'd be really, really hard for Brady not to get excited about playing with a strong array of pass-catching backs and one of the game's best outright receivers in Keenan Allen. Don't forget Mike Williams and the potential return of big-play tight end Hunter Henry. 

Want more fuel for the fire? Those Chargers were one of the teams NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported as meeting with Brady's reps at the combine (alongside the Indianapolis Colts and Las Vegas Raiders). 

Odd as it might be to see No. 12 in the powder blues, there's enough here to mark it down as realistic. 

Las Vegas Raiders

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If one considers the possibility of Tom Brady pulling a LeBron James for the NFL and heading west, the Las Vegas Raiders have to enter the conversation. 

Brady providing a boon for the NFL as the Raiders shift to new beginnings would make for quite the storyline. It also wouldn't be too dissimilar from a post-football standpoint compared to Los Angeles. 

Jon Gruden and the Raiders just feel like a proper fit. Never mind the franchise hasn't won more than seven games in a season since 2016—Brady plus more than $50 million in cap space plus two first-round picks in the top 20 make for an interesting foundation. 

Brady's ability to work all over the field, if not stretch it, seems to pair quite well with tight end Darren Waller and wideouts Tyrell Williams and Hunter Renfrow. As always, this is just the offensive outlook before the Raiders make additional moves while trying to win in the short term and possibly forsaking the long term (anyone want to speculate about Antonio Brown given Gruden's clear willingness to take risks?). 

There's something odd about Brady and the Raiders (hello, tuck rule). But the approach from Gruden and Co. so far has made it clear they'd be all-in on the gamble. 

Tennessee Titans

Elise Amendola/Associated Press

Tom Brady could also be like Kevin Durant and jump to the team that just eliminated him from Super Bowl contention.

Which is a role he'd probably embrace and run with, of course. 

The Tennessee Titans make sense for that factor alone. But it sure doesn't hurt that the upstart feel-good story from a season ago won nine games and reached a conference title game thanks to a revived, effective effort from one Ryan Tannehill. 

While it's easy to think the Titans could just loop back to Tannehill and keep a good thing going, if Brady shows interest, it'd be hard to ignore. 

And why wouldn't he if he's really leaving Foxborough? He'd likely get to hand off to the dominant Derrick Henry (provided the Titans keep him) and bully defenses with his one-two tandem of A.J. Brown and Corey Davis. He'd have a big-play threat at tight end with Jonnu Smith, and he'd even have a reliable target-happy option like Adam Humphries. 

This is probably Brady's best shot at another ring if he leaves the Patriots. Interestingly, the Titans are in a better position than the other realistic locales to say, "No, thanks." 

Which, funnily enough, would probably only make Brady want it to happen even more. 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Jason Behnken/Associated Press

Feel free to call the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a dark horse. 

But understand they'd probably be anything but in the mind of a quarterback. 

If Brady's looking at the Buccaneers, it's only because of the wicked set of weapons he'd get to spam the ball to on every down. Mike Evans might quietly be the best outright wideout in football (he just put up 1,157 yards and eight scores in 13 games). Chris Godwin is a breakout star. Tight end O.J. Howard hasn't met expectations yet, but the conversation for the former first-round pick might change when his quarterback isn't off throwing 30 interceptions. 

The Bruce Arians factor sure probably doesn't bother Brady either. Arians hit the combine and name-dropped Brady himself when asked about quarterbacks he'd go after to replace Jameis Winston. 

"Tom Brady," Arians said, according to The Athletic's Greg Auman. "Philip is another guy. We'll see."

Detractors can talk all day about the small market and spotty performances by the Buccaneers over the years. But there's nothing wrong with a beachy environment to call it a career and the current cast of weapons—plus a top-15 pick and nearly $85 million in cap space says Tampa Bay is more realistic for Brady than most teams in the NFL. 

New England Patriots

Elise Amendola/Associated Press

Boring? Maybe. But the most realistic spot for Brady is still the New England Patriots. 

It likely wouldn't make sense for Brady to up and leave the Patriots and Belichick at this stage of his career. If anything, it all feels like a high-profile game of possum between two parties trying to exercise some leverage. 

That, or Belichick is merely operating the controls like he always does—immune to caring about outside perception. 

Meaning, Belichick and Co. just aren't going to nail down this big of a commitment before the CBA spat reaches a conclusion, which is something NFL Network's Ian Rapoport mused about during the combine. 

"It's not surprising—there's no CBA," Rapoport said. "The Patriots have no reason to negotiate now. It's probably going to come closer to when the tampering window opens."

That idea was also echoed by a report from ESPN's Adam Schefter. 

Strictly from a football standpoint, besides the obvious familiarity, the Patriots still look plenty alluring. The team has north of $40 million in cap space. He's already got the familiar rapport with Julian Edelman and should have a better one with Mohamed Sanu and a high-upside prospect like N'Keal Harry as the latter goes into his second season. 

Is that as thrilling as Brady going somewhere else? From an outsider's perspective, probably not. But the pluses and not having to start over somewhere new keep the Patriots sitting in the "most realistic" position until the very end of this saga.