Tom Brady Decides to Leave Patriots: Best Options for New England to Replace QB

Tom Brady confirmed Tuesday morning he will not be the New England Patriots quarterback come the 2020 season:

"This was always about another adventure, about being reinvigorated, about taking his career somewhere else for fun," Jeff Darlington said on ESPN's Get Up. "And I think that that's something that was difficult for people to digest at this point, and that makes sense. We're talking a 42-year-old quarterback who is perhaps the greatest of all time, who played 20 years in the same place. It is hard to fathom, but for Brady, it is not."

Where does that leave the Patriots, who have not had to worry about the game's most crucial position for two decades?

New England owns the No. 23 overall pick in next month's draft, but there are also a few options in free agency to replace Brady at quarterback. Below are the available quarterbacks in free agency (Player, Previous Team): 

• Teddy Bridgewater, New Orleans Saints
• Philip Rivers, Los Angeles Chargers
• Jameis Winston, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Chase Daniel, Chicago Bears
• Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints
• Colt McCoy, Washington Redskins
• Drew Stanton, Cleveland Browns
• Josh McCown, Philadelphia Eagles
• Trevor Siemian, New York Jets
• Mike Glennon, Las Vegas Raiders
• Brett Hundley, Arizona Cardinals
• Blaine Gabbert, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Matt Moore, Kansas City Chiefs
• Joe Webb, Houston Texans
• Blake Bortles, Los Angeles Rams
• Sean Mannion, Minnesota Vikings
• Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks
• David Fales, New York Jets
• Jeff Driskel, Detroit Lions
• Brandon Allen, Denver Broncos
• Matt Simms, Atlanta Falcons
• Josh Woodrum, Washington Redskins

Also appearing on Get Up Tuesday morning, Adam Schefter touched on how he expects the Patriots to move forward:

"The Patriots, as we said, are a very patient, thoughtful organization. I don't think they're gonna rush into anything because Tom Brady announces that he's leaving. It's not like today they're gonna go sign Philip Rivers, who has been talking to the Colts, or go trade for a quarterback that's out there right now.

"They'll sit back. They'll let the quarterback landscape calm down. And they'll make a move at the right time. And it may just be that they wanna win without a high-priced quarterback. It may be that they take their resources and allocate them to the defensive side of football and begin rebuilding. They've got Jarrett Stidham, an inexpensive quarterback on a rookie contract. Maybe you go draft another rookie quarterback."

Regardless of who the Patriots line up under center next season, they won't replace what Brady brought to the organization this offseason: an all-time record six Super Bowl titles along with various other all-time individual records.

Head coach Bill Belichick isn't likely to settle for a full-blown rebuild, however, which makes it hard to imagine the Patriots using their first-round pick on Brady's heir apparent.

Kyle Brandt tossed out Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton or Jacksonville Jaguars signal-caller Nick Foles, who led the Eagles to a 41-33 win over the Pats in Super Bowl LII, as options:

New England would have to trade for either Dalton and Foles, and the Patriots could forego the free-agent quarterback market in favor of a trade for a veteran who has proved capable of making the postseason.

If the Patriots choose to go the trade route, the Las Vegas Raiders were rumored to be connected to Brady but agreed to sign Marcus Mariota on Monday. Where does that leave starting quarterback Derek Carr? That would be an appealing option for Belichick.

"When you look at how Bill Belichick and the Patriots do business, it's important to remember it's always about finding the best value," ESPN's Dan Graziano told Get Up on Tuesday morning. "Even Brady is an example of that. He's a sixth-round pick that became the best quarterback of all time."

In a perfect world for the Patriots, Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton's price drops to enable New England to trade for the 2015 NFL MVP. Is that a reasonable option? Maybe not, but it was also hard to believe Brady would ever leave New England.