We've heard plenty of reasons as to why Tom Brady would leave the New England Patriots to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in free agency.
But Terry Bradshaw apparently isn't buying them.
The legendary Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback and current NFL on FOX analyst clearly disagrees with Brady's decision to part ways with the franchise he helped win six Super Bowl titles.
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“I would never have done that, and I was shocked he was leaving. Shocked," Bradshaw told The Athletic's Ed Bouchette. "I’ve never known a great quarterback ... at the end of his career, go to another team and do anything. ... The offense they ran in New England was perfect for him."
Bradshaw doesn't live under a rock, and understands that friction with head coach Bill Belichick may have driven Brady to seek greener pastures. But the 71-year-old still questions Brady joining a moribund Buccaneers franchise just to prove he's "more important than Bill Belichick."
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"I don’t know what the hell Tom’s doing," Bradshaw said. "I think Tom, at 43, there has to be something going on for him to want to leave there, right? Gotta be. He’s got to feel they don’t want him, he’s got to feel unappreciated, got to feel, ‘I got to get out from underneath Belichick.' He knows they’re saying, ‘Who was more important, the coach or the quarterback?’
" ... Why the hell do you want to go to Tampa? The only thing I can think of is ego gets involved and you decide, ‘I’ll show ’em who’s more important.' "
Unlike others, though, Bradshaw isn't sold that Brady can thrive in Tampa Bay at the advanced age of 43 -- even while following the TB12 Method.
"Part of me says it ain’t going to work," Bradshaw said. "When you’re 43 years old, I don’t care if you eat grass and sand and whatever it is he does, that’s a tough call, man."
Well said, Terry.
If Brady does succeed with the Bucs and Belichick's Patriots falter under Jarrett Stidham, it will be Bradshaw eating crow.
