NFL insider says Tom Brady has not committed to playing in 2018 but the Patriots 'think' he will
- Tom Brady has not yet told the New England Patriots whether or not he will play in 2018, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
- Most are still optimistic that Brady will play but acknowledged that it is still up in the air.
- Brady is also absent from the Patriots' offseason workouts, further raising eyebrows about Brady's relationship with Bill Belichick and his future with the team.
NFL insider Adam Schefter dropped a bit of a bombshell on Wednesday morning, reporting that Tom Brady has not yet committed to playing during the 2018 NFL season.
Schefter was a guest on ESPN's "Get Up" and reported that the New England Patriots and people around Brady are seemingly optimistic that Brady will play in 2018. However, Schefter also noted that a final decision is still up in the air.
"There has been no official word that Tom Brady will be back for the 2018 season," Schefter said. "He has not yet committed to playing. I think the people around and the people inside that organization think that he'll play, but they don't know that he will play."
Brady has not attended the Patriots' voluntary offseason workouts, which started on Monday. While it is not unprecedented for Brady to skip the workouts, he had not done so since 2010. The move raised eyebrows around the NFL considering his age (41 in August), his wife's desire for him to retire, and the reported rift between him and coach Bill Belichick over the use of health guru, Alex Guerrero.
ESPN's Jeff Darlington reported Brady's absence from the team and went out of his way to note that Brady was spending time with Guerrero.
"Even after Tom Brady returns from Qatar, I do not anticipate he will be a regular participant in team's offseason program," Darlington wrote. "He plans to spend more time with family and body coach Alex Guerrero."
Schefter later emphasized that "the sense is that he will" play, but noted again that there is nothing official and the team has not yet heard from Brady.
"We think he's going to play," Schefter said. "Most people think he is going to play. But they also readily acknowledge that they don't know exactly how this will turn out because they have not heard from him directly."