Tom Brady announces he’s leaving Patriots
Six-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady said on Tuesday he is leaving the New England Patriots after 20 years with the team, stunning fans of the NFL franchise and adding a dramatic twist to the league’s off-season.
With free agency beginning on Wednesday, the 42-year-old quarterback left no doubt in a social media post that he would not return to New England. During his celebrated tenure he set many NFL records, including most victories and appearances in the Super Bowl and most playoff wins. He won a record four Super Bowl Most Valuable Player trophies.
“Although my football journey will take place elsewhere, I appreciate everything that we have achieved and am grateful for our incredible TEAM accomplishments,” Brady wrote in an Instagram post that instantly went viral.
He did not elaborate on his plans or next steps in his career. Previously, he has said he wanted to continue playing and was unlikely to retire.
“I had hoped this day would never come, but rather that Tom would end his remarkable career in a Patriots uniform after yet another Super Bowl championship,” team owner Robert Kraft said in a written statement.
“Unfortunately, the two sides were unable to reach an agreement to allow that dream to become a reality.”
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, who formed one of the NFL’s most enduring and successful partnerships with Brady, said in a written statement that the quarterback was one of the Patriots program’s “original creators.”
“Sometimes in life, it takes some time to pass before truly appreciating something or someone but that has not been the case with Tom,” said Belichick. “He is a special person and the greatest quarterback of all-time.”
Belichick selected out of Michigan Brady in 2000 with the 199th pick of the NFL draft. Brady spent his first season as a backup, then stepped in for the injured Drew Bledsoe in 2001 as starting quarterback. He led the team to its first ever Super Bowl victory at the end of the 2001/2002 season.
Brady also had detractors who accused him of cheating in 2015 by ordering Patriots employees to improperly lower the pressure of footballs before an NFL playoff game. Brady was ultimately suspended four games for the incident that became known as “deflategate” even though he denied wrongdoing.
Speculation over where he may land next has been rampant for months, as the Patriots’ most recent season ended in a humiliating at-home defeat against the Miami Dolphins, followed up by a shock loss to the Tennessee Titans in the playoffs.
Suitors have reportedly included the Los Angeles Chargers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the latter an early betting favorite.
Saints, Brees agree to two-year deal
New Orleans Saints star quarterback Drew Brees has agreed to a two-year contract worth approximately $50 million, multiple media outlets reported on Tuesday.
The $25 million per season average is the same value as the previous deal he signed with New Orleans in 2018.
Brees, who announced earlier this month that he planned to return to the Saints, is the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yards and touchdown passes. He was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on Wednesday.
The 41-year-old Brees started 11 games and completed 74.3 percent of his passes for 2,979 yards, 27 touchdowns and four interceptions in 2019. He missed five games with a thumb injury.
Including 14 seasons with New Orleans and five with the then-San Diego Chargers, he has thrown for 77,416 yards and 547 touchdowns in 275 games (274 starts).
Bills acquire Diggs from Vikings
The Buffalo Bills, whose passing attack ranked just 26th in the NFL last season, added a receiving threat.
Buffalo acquired wide receiver Stefon Diggs in a trade with the Minnesota
Vikings, Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer reported.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter subsequently tweeted additional details of the deal: The Vikings are getting three picks in the 2020 draft – first, fifth and sixth rounds – plus a 2021 fourth-rounder in exchange for Diggs and a 2020 seventh-rounder.
Diggs, 26, set a career high last season with 1,130 receiving yards. He had 63 catches, six of them for touchdowns, while playing in 15 games, all of them starts. Diggs added four receptions for 76 yards and a score in two playoff games.
In 2018, Diggs made a career-best 102 catches for 1,021 yards and a personal-high nine touchdowns.
In five NFL seasons, he has 365 receptions for 4,623 yards and 30 TDs.
Texans trade WR Hopkins for Cardinals RB Johnson
The Houston Texans made a stunning move Monday by trading star receiver DeAndre Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals for running back David Johnson.
The Texans will also send a 2020 fourth-round draft pick to the Cardinals and will receive two picks in return, a second-round selection this year and a fourth-rounder in 2021.
The 27-year-old Hopkins is one of the most productive receivers in the NFL. He earned All-Pro honors for the third consecutive season and caught 104 passes for 1,165 yards and seven touchdowns in 15 games in 2019.
It was the third time he topped 100 catches and the fifth time he exceeded 1,000 yards in seven seasons since the Texans made him a first-round pick (27th overall) in 2013.
Through 110 games (all starts), the fourtime Pro Bowl selection has 632 catches for 8,602 yards and 54 touchdowns.
Johnson, 28, rushed for 345 yards and two touchdowns and caught 36 passes for 370 yards and four TDs in 13 games (nine) starts in his fifth season with Arizona in 2019. His role was reduced after the Cardinals acquired Kenyan Drake from the Miami Dolphins in midseason.
Johnson’s best season was 2016, when he earned All-Pro honors by rushing for 1,239 yards and 16 touchdowns. He also set career highs with 80 catches for 879 yards that season, leading the NFL in yards from scrimmage (2,118) and total touchdowns (20). (Reuters)