BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — With less than a week until the NFL's legal tampering period begins, expect the reports of what's going on with Tom Brady to go into overdrive (if they haven't already).
We know by now that the quarterback wants to test the waters of free agency and that the Patriots are willing to let him see what's out there, but one ESPN NFL reporter said on Tuesday that the market for the soon-to-be 43-year-old QB isn't a big as he was hoping.
This report comes on the heels of what we learned from Boston Sports Journal's Greg Bedard late last week—that when it comes to the teams that are interested in Brady, he wouldn't have much interest in signing with any of them.
Dianna Russini appeared on ESPN's "Get Up" morning show, where she told the panel the latest developments on Brady's upcoming free agency:
"The reality is from just talking to sources around the league, it seems Brady is a lot more interested in teams than teams are actually interested in Tom Brady," Russini said. "I think a lot of organizations are sitting back right now watching to see how the next few days go."
Russini then mentions Adam Schefter's report that Brady and the Patriots are set to meet this week and said that once that happens, "the chips begin to fall."
Schefter also reported Monday that the deadline for the CBA vote by the players has been pushed back 48 hours to Saturday night at 11:59 p.m. He later followed up with new information that the deadline for using the Franchise Tag has been pushed back to Monday at 11:59 a.m., and that the legal tampering period will start one minute after at noon.
Despite the two delays, the new league year and free agency will still begin at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, March 18.
What do these delays mean for Brady Watch purposes? Well, we've learned from multiple reports the past few weeks that Bill Belichick isn't interested in negotiating with Brady until the CBA is signed, and that time period for negotiations before the legal tampering period has now been reduced from 84 hours to 36.
As for the Franchise Tag, it has been heavily rumored that will be the path the Tennessee Titans are choosing to go with to retain the services of Ryan Tannehill, so it could be another 2 days until we know for sure what the Titans plans are.
Fox Sports/NFL Network reporter Peter Schrager went on the Rich Eisen Show Tuesday afternoon, where he gave insight into what he's been hearing with how the negotiation process will play out with eight days left until free agency:
"There will be no roses, there will be no bouquets, there will be no Robert Kraft sit-down. From what I gather, the Patriots are going to let Brady feel the love, feel loved, go sew his wild oats, and then at the end of this, have to make a decision: go back to what he knows, or go with some new team, to put it in relationship terms, go with a new lover. Someone from who I gather will give him the red carpet treatment and all that, because the Patriots don't do that with anybody as we know, and they're not going to break their rules, they're not going to do that with Brady."
How far off the two sides are when it comes to getting a deal done has yet to be seen, but Field Yates of ESPN tweeted out Sunday night that New England may just be sticking with what they offered the quarterback last August, which Brady rejected to be able to see what is out there in free agency.
Yates says that basically, we're at the point where Brady has to let Belichick and the Patriots know what he wants exactly, and they'll act accordingly.
On Monday, Brady did announce that he's going Hollywood, launching 199 Productions with "Avengers: Endgame" directors Joe and Anthony Russo.
The production company is described as "a global multi-platform content company to develop original premium content including documentaries, feature films and television shows. The company has quietly assembled a slate of development projects that include several with Brady on camera, in stories spanning sports, entertainment and health and wellness among others."
Remember a few years ago when Brady put out his "Tom vs. Time" documentary? It's not official, but the growing suspicion is that this may be how he announces his decision.
WBZ NewsRadio's Dan Watkins (@DanWatkinsRadio) reports:
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