Mike McCarthy enjoyed a lot of success with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback. Could he lead the Cowboys to sign Tom Brady to be his next veteran star?
Cowboys fans rushing to log on to NFL.com in an effort to order personalized Tom Brady jerseys might want to take a minute and rethink their potential purchase.
Somehow, Cowboys’ Hall of Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin managed to fire up the rumor mill with his comments that “some very significant people” informed him that his former team might chase after Brady in free agency. In fairness to the NFL Network pundit, he’s backed off those comments by pointing out that no one who communicated those messages to him is employed by the Cowboys.
It’s the internet equivalent of Irvin trying to put toothpaste back into the tube at this point.
Rational fans can look at the situation and reasonably conclude that Brady isn’t coming to Big D anytime soon. For one, the Cowboys already have a quarterback they want to sign to a long-term contract. Dak Prescott doesn’t have Brady’s resume of playoff success, but he’s also 26 years old. Jerry Jones is not going to let a franchise quarterback in his prime walk away for the chance to employ Brady for a season or two at the tail end of his career.
Remember, Brady has already enjoyed his 42nd birthday. He may want to play until he reaches his mid-40s, but the chances of him performing at a high level in the future are pretty small. Prescott certainly projects to be the more productive signal-caller moving forward by a very significant margin.
Some might think Prescott’s contract demands might push the Cowboys towards Brady. There’s only one problem with that line of thinking. Brady is looking to get paid too. He’s not going to give Jones any type of discount on a one or two-year contract. Dallas wouldn’t give Brady the same length of contract that Prescott will command, but the average annual value might be pretty similar. That’s another important reason why the Cowboys will re-sign Prescott as opposed to making a shocking swoop for Brady.
Unless something drastic changes, expect the Cowboys to ultimately find a way to ink Prescott to a long-term deal this offseason. At worst, they’ll slap the franchise tag on him to make sure he remains their quarterback for another season while they continue to work on a long-term deal he’s willing to sign.
For Brady, the odds still favor a return to New England. It’s not a lock that he’ll play another season for Bill Belichick, but it’s hard to really envision him going anywhere else. He’s more of a flight risk that Prescott, but not by much.