I woke up to the news Tom Brady was leaving the New England Patriots. Even as we entered the offseason and a lot of signs pointed to this, it was still a surreal moment. Being a true Patriots and Brady hater, an unabashed one, in some ways this was exciting news. Partially because this officially spells the end of the Brady-Belichick era and Patriots dynasty. The Patriots may well be good under Jared Stidham or Andy Dalton or someone else. Brady may take to Tampa and do well. But they won't do well together. Of course, I also have the dream neither does well apart.
The landscape of the NFL changed, formally turning the era from the Patriots reign (2000-2019), an incredible 20 year run that will never come close to being duplicated, and only one other run in the past can even compare (1981-1999 49ers). The league is in a new era, and the QB market shifts are all part of that.
Outside of Brady actually leaving, we have Philip Rivers, a player who once taunted Colts fans swaggeringly as his Chargers beat them in back-to-back playoff meetings, coming to Indianapolis. Obviously the social gravity of this moves pales in comparison, but if anything has more interesting on the field practicalities, as the Colts are gearing up for a Super Bowl run, placing bets on a 38-year old player who had played his whole career in one place.
Aside from that, we have the inevitable move of Cam Newton away from Carolina, with Teddy Bridgewater getting his chance as a clear #1 for the first time since he left Minnesota. We have whatever happens with Dalton, whatever happens with Jameis. I don't know the last time we've had so much QB movement.
Weirdly none of it feels as the start of something new, just the end of something old - be it Rivers and Brady playing out their golden years somewhere else, or Cam trying to make it back. But that is because we already have the something new - with Mahomes and Lamar, Deshaun (though really, BOB?) and Kyler, Russell and Jimmy G. This is a new NFL, with the divorce of Brady and BB know we just know for certain.
As for Brady, the most shocking thing was picking Tampa. Maybe it makes sense when you give it a lot of thought - there are weapons, a coach he seems to like, sunny weather, no state income tax, and of course a team that will probably pay him a lot. But it will be so jarring watching him in that uniform - even if they're moving on from teh truly garish digs they've had the last five seasons and back to something close to what they wore when they won the Super Bowl. When Peyton left Indy he went to Denver, one of the league's storied franchises - one that had gone to six Super Bowls, and he would take them to two more. Brady is joining arguably the worst franchise in the league since its inception, with only Detroit and Cleveland coming close.
It will also be weird to see Rivers in the horseshoe - though in his case I grew a begrudging respect for him. It will be weird watching Cam in something other than Panthers colors. Time changes, life changes, but it is surprising to see so much if it change all at once. It has been nine years since we had to accept one of the most incredible QB moves ever: Peyton Freaking Manning leaving Indianapolis. Given Brady's age and the long list of people who have departed New England, I personally don't think this is more surprising than Peyton (certainly not when you layer on Peyton's injuries) but no less jarring/
The 2010-2019 NFL was defined by the Patriots, and that is ending. We are in a Cheifs/Ravens/49ers world with other great teams to layer on top of that. The league grew rapidly, in large part because they had Manning v. Brady as its headline for a good twelve years - years of almost continuous sustained growth. After Peyton retired, ratings began to struggle (2016-17 being the low point), and finally started to rebound these last two. The league now lost the other half of that tandem, but the ratings should only go higher. The league is ready for a post-Brady & Belichick world, so I'm glad we are going to get at least a year of actually seeing what that looks like.
