Tom Brady: I Was ‘Seriously Considering’ Bears Contract in NFL FA After Patriots Exit

Doric SamSeptember 29, 2024

Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

Legendary quarterback and Fox analyst Tom Brady had the pleasure of broadcasting Sunday’s game between his former Tampa Bay Buccaneers team and the Philadelphia Eagles, and he revealed that there was a chance he never ended up in Tampa Bay in the first place.

Brady said during the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game that at one point after leaving the New England Patriots in 2020, he was “seriously considering” signing with the Chicago Bears in free agency before ultimately deciding to join the Bucs:

FOX Sports: NFL @NFLonFOX”Chicago was a team, and I’ve never told that story before, they were very stealth in their recruitment.” @TomBrady shares the notecards he had when he was making his decision in free agency 👀⬇️ pic.twitter.com/NmPpGMFKU2

During the 2020 season, the Bears had quarterbacks Mitchell Trubisky and Nick Foles rotating under center, so Brady undoubtedly would’ve been a major upgrade at the position. Chicago still managed to make the playoffs with an 8-8 record and had a 1,000-yard running back in David Montgomery as well as a 1,000-yard receiver in Allen Robinson. However, it’s clear that Brady made the right choice to join Tampa Bay.

In his first year with the Bucs, Brady earned his seventh career Super Bowl ring after defeating Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV. He led the NFL in passing yards in 2021 with a career-high 5,316 at 44 years old. He led the Bucs to back-to-back NFC South titles before his retirement at the end of the 2022 season.

Brady explained that he took his time before determining that joining Tampa Bay gave him exactly what he was looking for, including the opportunity to be close to his son.

“There were a lot of reasons to choose Tampa,” Brady said. “I made about 18 criteria why, and there were things all the way from salary obviously to the weather to the facilities to how great the players were.”

After not getting Brady, the Bears finally have stability at the quarterback position after drafting Caleb Williams with the 2024 No. 1 pick. The rookie signal-caller threw for 157 yards and a touchdown while committing no turnovers in Sunday’s 24-18 win over the Los Angeles Rams to help Chicago improve to 2-2.