Tom Brady says that in his final years in New England, he began to realize that he and coach Bill Belichick were not on the same page.

In a reflection on NFL free agency that he posted to his website, Brady talked about the only time he was a free agent: When he left New England for Tampa Bay five years ago. Brady says that in the final years of his final contract with the Patriots, he knew something had to change.

“For me, it was a creeping decision that lived passively in the back of mind for 2-3 years until March of 2020 when a whirlwind of a few days made me realize that a decision was coming sooner rather than later,” Brady wrote. “The reality was, after twenty years together, a natural tension had developed between where Coach Belichick and I were headed in our careers, and where the Patriots were moving as a franchise. It was the kind of tension that could only be resolved by some kind of split or one of us reassessing our priorities.”

Brady says that as he weighed leaving the Patriots, he listed his most important priorities and came to the conclusion that the Buccaneers were a better fit for him.

“What I ended up with was a list of about twenty things that I then ranked and graded on a weighted scale from 1 to 3,” Brady wrote. “The presence of skill players was a 3 in terms of importance, for example, and the Bucs graded out as a 3 because of guys like Mike Evans and Chris Godwin The same was true for the head coach. That was a 3 in importance, and Tampa scored a 3 with Bruce Arians. Game day weather was a 2, practice weather was a 3. Financial compensation was on the list, obviously, but it wasn’t first, it probably wasn’t even top 10, and it definitely didn’t rank as a 3 in importance. In the end, I chose Tampa, almost exactly five years ago now, because, in the aggregate, it graded out higher than New England along those twenty or so dimensions.”

The split with Belichick and the Patriots worked…

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With only a month remaining before the 2024 NFL Draft, the widespread expectation is that University of Miami quarterback Cam Ward will be the No. 1 overall pick. The main question seems to be whether the Tennessee Titans will stick at No. 1 overall or decide to trade the pick.

On Monday, Ward hoped to put that discussion to rest. Miami held its Pro Day on Monday afternoon, and of course, Ward’s throwing session was the main event. And after a throw to tight end Elijah Arroyo while rolling out to his left, Ward let the Titans know about his plans.

While there was another highlight throw later on in the workout, this somewhat more under-control frozen rope to Arroyo was the throw after which Ward let Tennessee brass hear what he had to say.

All 32 teams showed up at Miami’s Pro Day to see Ward and Co. get in their workout, but the Titans were obviously the headliners. They had their general manager, head coach, offensive coordinator and more in the building to watch Ward throw live for the first time.

“They finally got to see me throw in person. That should be all they need to see,” Ward said. “At the end of the day, if they want to give me the pick or not, I’m going to be happy with whatever team I go to. I just want to play football.”

Pete Prisco 2025 NFL mock draft 1.0: Three QBs go in Round 1; Jayden Daniels, Matthew Stafford get WRs

Pete Prisco

If he is indeed the top selection in the draft, Ward will be the first Hurricane picked first overall since Russell Maryland back in 1991, and the first Miami quarterback picked No. 1 since Vinny Testaverde…

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Two weeks ago today, the deals started. Fast, furious, and heavily infused with tampering.

Of the 100 top free agents as determined via a carefully constructed, AI-reliant algorithm (not really), 17 remain.

Here they are, with the original rank they received from our carefully constructed, AI-reliant algorithm (not really).

24. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

32. Cornerback Asante Samuel.

37.Receiver Amari Cooper.

46. Receiver Stefon Diggs.

48. Cornerback Mike Hilton.

51. Safety Justin Simmons.

60. Cornerback Rasul Douglas.

68. Running back J.K. Dobbins.

73. Receiver Keenan Allen.

81. Safety Julian Blackmon.

84. Defensive lineman Calais Campbell.

85. Edge rusher Matthew Judon.

86. Linebacker E.J. Speed.

87. Offensive guard Brandon Scherff.

90. Quarterback Russell Wilson.

93. Outside linebacker Kyzir White.

99. Browns offensive tackle Jedrick Wills.

For some, the offers likely aren’t where the player expected them to be. For others, there simply might not be much, if any, interest at all.

For one, the interest is there. He’s just waiting to sign.

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Aaron Rodgers became a free agent for the first time in his NFL career this offseason. Almost two weeks after all 32 teams were first permitted to negotiate with unsigned veterans, however, the future Hall of Fame quarterback remains without a home. The New York Jets said goodbye, the Minnesota Vikings said no thanks (for now), and only a few others appear legitimately interested in signing the former MVP.

Headlining the “others” are the New York Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers, each of whom has signed a veteran backup — Jameis Winston and Mason Rudolph, respectively — but lacks a surefire Week 1 starter. The Vikings sniffed around the idea of adding Rodgers in a reenactment of the Brett Favre finish but now seem content with kicking off the J.J. McCarthy era. The Cleveland Browns and Tennessee Titans are in full-on rebuild mode, preparing to potentially reset the quarterback spot early in the 2025 NFL Draft.

All that said, is anyone really expecting Rodgers to make his decision before the draft?

At this point, basically everything is set at the quarterback position league-wide, barring a surprise blockbuster trade or catastrophic injury. Something like 27 of the NFL’s 32 teams are committed — either contractually or philosophically — to a veteran starter, and the few teams without a proven arm penciled into a top gig have relatively clear options and/or fallback plans:

The Titans own the No. 1 overall pick in the draftThe Browns own the No. 2 pick and also acquired Kenny Pickett via tradeThe Giants own the No. 3 pick and also signed Jameis WinstonThe Steelers own the No. 21 pick and also signed Mason RudolphThe Vikings used last year’s No. 10 pick on J.J. McCarthy

If we effectively rule out the Browns and Titans as logical destinations for Rodgers, who’d be settling for a lowly team in transition even if either organization suddenly expressed interest, that leaves three feasible…

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht was thankful Chris Godwin wanted to come back to the only team he ever played for, showcasing that thanks in Godwin’s press conference after he re-signed with the team earlier this month. Godwin signed a three-year, $66 million deal with the Buccaneers — but it could have been significantly more had he signed elsewhere in free agency.

Licht revealed there was a team that aggressively courted Godwin, but wouldn’t mention them by name. 

“There were several teams that inquired but there was one that kept writing him blank checks,” Licht said, via WDAE (transcribed by Pro Football Talk). “We got to a point of what we could do in order to keep everything together and add some pieces here, and he took it.”

Was the team that was seeking to give Godwin a blank check the New England Patriots? New England had over $125 million in available salary cap space in free agency, and was the team that outbid the Carolina Panthers for defensive tackle Milton Williams. The Patriots also have a major need at wide receiver, as their current depth chart consists of Kayshon Boutte, Kendrick Bourne, DeMario Douglas, Ja’Lynn Polk and free agent signing Mack Hollins.

Simply put, the Patriots need a No. 1 wide receiver and there were reports New England put on a “full court press” in their attempt to sign Godwin. New England also struck out on DK Metcalf, Deebo Samuel, and Tee Higgins, making Godwin the best option remaining. 

New England didn’t appear to have a chance to sign Godwin.

2025 NFL free agency tracker: Updates on top 100 free agents; Amari Cooper, Stefon Diggs among best available

Cody Benjamin

“I think, what it boiled down to, honestly,…

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A day after adding another quarterback, the Giants have added another receiver.

The Giants have announced — sort of — that they have agreed to terms with veteran receiver Zach Pascal.

Undrafted in 2017, the 30-year-old Pascal has played for the Colts, Eagles, and Cardinals. He has 169 catches for 2,057 yards and 16 touchdowns in 112 regular-season appearances, with 47 starts.

Pascal appeared in 17 games last season with Arizona, mainly on special teams. He had 68 total offensive snaps and 278 special-teams snaps. He caught no passes in 2024.

In the latest example of a somewhat unusual trend, the Giants posted on their website a blurb crediting the news to “reports.” Instead of simply confirming it. Or debunking it.

Or adding something like this: “The Giants did not respond to a request for comment from the Giants.”

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While his plans for the 2025 season are a mystery, Aaron Rodgers’ place in NFL history is not. Regardless of what he does next, Rodgers will go down as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time whenever he decides to hang up his cleats for good. 

Rodgers, 41, has a pretty stacked trophy case that includes four league NFL MVP trophies. Rodgers is also the owner of a Super Bowl MVP trophy after leading the Packers to their fourth and most recent Super Bowl win at the end of the 2010 season. Rodgers is also a 10-time Pro Bowler, four-time All-Pro and a member of the 2010s All-Decade Team. Not bad for a player who wasn’t recruited by a single major Division 1 program coming out of high school. 

Where does Rodgers rank among the best quarterbacks of all-time? To find out, we put together a list of the top-30 quarterbacks in the history of the NFL. Here was the criteria used when making the list. 

Individual accolades Records set Team success Enduring legacy 

Only two active quarterbacks made the cut, but it’s safe to assume that Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson and Matthew Stafford, will each crack this list sometime in the near future. Eli Manning will probably crack the list one day as well, especially if he ever receives induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. 

Honorable mention: George Blanda 

Owner of one of the most unique careers in NFL history, Blanda’s career spanned a record 26 seasons and included a stint as a linebacker with the Bears early in his career. A three-time AFL champion with the Oilers, Blanda is the last quarterback to throw seven touchdown passes in a game, doing so during a win over the Titans in 1961. Blanda was also a prolific kicker who became the first player to score over 2,000 career points. 

Honorable mention: Bobby Layne 

One of the NFL’s original gun slingers, Layne led the Lions to the franchise’s first two championships in…

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