NFL Rumors: New England Patriots In ‘Wait-And-See’ Mode To Find Out If Tom Brady Returns Next Year

The New England Patriots are still not sure if they will have Tom Brady back under center next season.

A new tweet from ESPN‘s Mike Reiss noted that the team is focused on its playoff run and an earlier-than-usual start in the wild card round, and will wait until later to see if Brady is back for 2020. He said that sources close to the team said it is “anyone’s guess” whether the quarterback will return, adding that it was a truly “wait-and-see” situation. Reportedly, there have been no contract talks between Brady and the Patriots since August, when the two sides had reached a revised deal.

There has been plenty of speculation this season that Brady will find a new home for 2020. As The Inquisitr noted, both the Super Bowl-winning signal-caller and his longtime personal trainer put their Boston-area homes up for sale, and Brady’s contract is set to void after this season, which would allow him to test free agency for the first time in his career. The quarterback himself has added fuel to the speculation by refusing to say for certain if he will return to the Patriots, putting off questions about his future over the course of the season.

As Pro Football Talk noted, Brady refused to commit to any plans for 2020.

“I think that has been a unique situation that I have been in because I think when you commit to a team for a certain amount of years you kind feel like [there is] the responsibility to always fulfill the contract,” he said.

“For me, it’s been good because I am just taking it day-by-day and I am enjoying what I have. I don’t know what the future holds and the great part is for me, football at this point is all borrowed time.”

Live Patriots report on @GetUpESPN, talking Tom Brady. pic.twitter.com/5WN6N6sjZ8

— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) January 3, 2020

Brady saw his performance drop this season, especially in the second half where he struggled with consistency and accuracy. But despite this recent decline, the 42-year-old said he has no plans to retire after this season. As Sports Illustrated reported, he said he has had no change of heart about his plans to play into his late 40s, but said he is taking a one-day-at-a-time approach for the immediate term.

“I’ve had long terms goal, I’ve had short terms goals, football is a contact sport, you never know when your last game is going to be and you should count your blessing every time you walk off the field healthy,” Brady said.