Brett Favre knows what it's like to be a franchise icon who finishes their illustrious career in a different uniform.
The legendary Packers quarterback spent 16 years in Green Bay before being traded to the New York Jets in 2008, his age 39 season. Favre went on to play for the Minnesota Vikings in 2009 and '10 before hanging 'em up for good.
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While the two scenarios aren't exactly the same, there's a chance Tom Brady heads down a similar path. The New England Patriots QB is set to become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career on March 18. At 42 years old, Brady could opt to try winning his seventh Super Bowl title with a new team.
Favre weighed in on the unique scenario on his Sirius XM NFL Radio show. The Hall-of-Famer believes Brady will continue to play at a high level wherever he ends up, but he isn't convinced the 20-year veteran will want to go through the difficult process of learning a new offense.
I think with Tom, he’s really in a great spot. If he wants to play, you know, I’m sure New England would take him back in a heartbeat and pay him whatever. And if he wants to go play somewhere else and just see, just test the waters and see what it is like to play for someone else, maybe lead another team to a championship, he has that right.
I see, really, little decline, if any, in his game. I think he certainly needs some help. And I don’t care who was quarterbacking that team, they would need a little help.
So he’s got to sit there and think: Do I want to play? Can I play? I think the question, ‘Can I play?’ can easily be answered. I think he can still play. And the question of if he goes to another team can they protect him and will the play calling be somewhat familiar with what he’s used to? Because that’s another element.
He’s been in the same offense for 20 years and to learn a foreign language overnight is pretty difficult to do, not to mention do you really want to go through that?
Favre makes a solid point. If Brady believes the current state of affairs is difficult, it's hard to imagine heading elsewhere and learning an entirely different playbook being any easier.
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But in the end, it could simply come down to money. Brady reportedly is unlikely to take the hometown discount he's taken throughout his Patriots tenure, which means owner Robert Kraft and head coach Bill Belichick have plenty to discuss as their franchise quarterback's free agency approaches.