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A year ago, no one knew that Saints coach Sean Payton and Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady were trying to team up with the Dolphins. Eventually word got around and the shit hit the fan and yada yada yada the dolphins don’t have a first round choice in 2023.
Now that Brady is poised to become a free agent in March and Payton is currently attracting interest from multiple teams, could Brady and Payton end up on the same team next season?
Four teams are interested in Payton – the Broncos, Cardinals, Texans and Panthers. The first two have quarterbacks under massive contracts. The Texans need a lot more than Brady to become competitive.
Enter the Panthers. As the latest to officially join the Payton chase, Carolina has very good defense, very good receivers, solid running game, and an offensive line good enough to make it all work.
They also have an owner who was desperate for a great coach and franchise quarterback. Even if Brady was a short-term option, he would fill the stadium and create a lot of excitement.
Simply put, the NFC South is not good at the moment either. The Panthers would immediately become favorites to win the division. They could fatten their record enough to become one of the top seeds, especially with the schedule rotation that will see them face teams from the AFC South and NFC North in 2023.
A Payton-Brady duo (Payton joked about the possibility on Brady’s podcast last month) would also send a massive middle finger to 345 Park Avenue. In 2012, the league suspended Payton for a season on fabricated bounty charges. Six years ago, the league suspended Brady for four games on fabricated air pressure charges. And with their attempt to merge, costing Miami 2022 a first-round pick, it would certainly cause dismay and chagrin at league headquarters to finally make it happen.
It makes a lot of sense and hides in plain sight. We will find out in the next few weeks whether this will happen.