For the first time since the 2009 Playoffs, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots are sat at home during the Divisional round.
The disappointing end to a once promising season has only added fuel to the fire of the rumors that Brady’s time in New England is up.
Brady has been with the Patriots since 2000 and has never been a free agent, and unless he agrees to a deal between now and free agency that is going to change.
In his comments through the season and then recently after the Pats’ playoff loss it seems certain he’ll become a free agent.
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That doesn’t mean he’s leaving New England, but he is certainly open to the idea of it if reports are correct.
Who will sign Brady?
If Brady hits free agency, any team with a
question mark at QB, the cap space, and a roster close to being able to win now
should make a hard run at him.
One of the teams that makes the most sense is the LA Chargers. They have had Philip Rivers since 2004, but he too is set to be a free agent and this season felt an awful lot like the end of the Rivers/Chargers era.
READ MORE: Predicting the Divisional round of the NFL Playoffs
So why not swap one future Hall of Famer
for another, and the GOAT at that. Where Rivers has failed is reaching a Super
Bowl and even the playoffs, which is where Brady has excelled.
So, what would happen if the Chargers signed Tom Brady for the 2020 season?
Brady on the Chargers – 2020
NEW THREADS: It's kind of unsettling to see Brady in anything but a Pats uniform
*After picking up the 2019 season using live rosters and stats, I signed Brady to the Chargers, reset his ratings to the most recent roster update, and let the CPU handle the rest of Free Agency and the draft before the season.*
Unfortunately for the Chargers, going into the season they had an even weaker roster than they did in 2019 – except at QB.
However, they started the year with four straight wins before their Week 5 bye. After the bye, though, they started to stumble. Losing two of their next three and tying another.
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Nevertheless, through half of the system the Chargers found themselves atop the AFC West with a 4-2-1 record.
Unfortunately, their post-bye slump
continued. They lost three straight games, giving them five losses and a tie
after their hot start, slipping to a 4-5-1 record with just six games remaining.
Though, in typical Brady fashion, he turned his game on when his team needed it most. Over the last six weeks he led the team to five wins out of six, giving the Chargers a 9-6-1 record to finish the regular season.
Surprisingly that was enough to keep them in first place in the AFC West and booked them a home playoff game.
PLAYOFF BOUND: Brady would lead the Chargers to the Playoffs in 2020
Brady finished the season with 4,063 yards, 30 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, and was the main driving force for the team as they ran for fewer than 1,500 yards.
What would the Playoffs hold for the Chargers, though, with the Playoff King at the helm?
Unfortunately, they held nothing. The Chargers lost in the Wild Card round to a 9-7 Jacksonville Jaguars team who would go on to find themselves in the Super Bowl. They’d lose to the Seahawks, though.
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So, according to Madden, Brady on the Chargers will bring nothing more or less than what Philip Rivers has been able to deliver. What’s more, it would prove to be a one-year rental as the GOAT would hang up the cleats come the end of the season.
Chargers fans: Would that be worth it?
For what it’s worth, how would the Chargers
have done had he been their QB in 2019?
Brady on the Chargers - 2019
CALI LIVING: Brady would me moving closer to home if he joined the Chargers
After beating the Colts in Week 1, with a
signature game-winning drive from the GOAT to kick a field goal and win 32-30,
the Chargers had a much better first half of the season than they did in
real-life.
With Brady at the helm, throwing 19 touchdowns and just two interceptions, the Chargers were 5-3 going into Week 9 and sitting second in the AFC West.
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Unlike this season with Philip Rivers, the
Chargers were well in the Playoff race heading into the second half of the
season.
However, despite a better start and Brady
continuing to play well, the Chargers ultimately couldn’t manage an outcome
much better than they had with Rivers.
Over the final nine weeks of the season the
LA team went 4-3, slipping to a 9-7 record and missing out on a playoff berth
by just one game.
Brady, meanwhile, had a very good season despite the team’s end result. He passed for 4,183 yards with 33 touchdowns and just six interceptions.
READ MORE: Los Angeles Chargers Franchise Mode guide
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