The drama in New England played out quickly when free agency opened earlier this year, with Tom Brady swiftly announcing that he would not re-join the Patriots before agreeing to a deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Like that, one of sports’ most fascinating and enduring dynasties … changed, at the very least. Bill Belichick has now set off to try to win championships without the greatest QB of all time. And Brady, with Gronk at his side, will try to do the same without the greatest coach of all time.
We brought our friend Henry McKenna, Managing Editor of Patriots Wire and a contributor here at For The Win, on to discuss how things got to be this way in New England and, crucially, what happens next. A few of the topics we talked about:
- The surprising choice by the Patriots to not select a QB at the draft
- Whether Andy Dalton or Cam Newton might fight
- What type of replacement Jarrett Stidham would be
- Belichick’s plan to devise an offense that is less reliant on QB play
- How the events of this spring will impact Belichick’s and Brady’s legacies
We also took your reader questions, providing answers for the following:
(Steven actually offered some thoughts on this in an article Thursday, too.)
We’ll be back on Monday and Friday of next week with a discussion of Steven’s initial power rankings heading into next season.
