Tom Brady notably omits any mention of Patriots in retirement announcement

It was not a coincidence that Brady totally ignored the Patriots. The omission was by design. The question is why. It’s possible that Brady feels he has already said enough about New England. He has had nothing but positive things to say about the team since he left in free agency two years ago. Brady shared several nice tributes to the Patriots after the Bucs traveled to New England to face them earlier this season. He also had a lengthy private meeting with Belichick after the game. Perhaps Brady simply felt now is the time to show appreciation to his most recent team.

The juicier take would be that Brady is angry with the Patriots for not re-signing him two years ago. That seems unlikely, especially given all he has said about them since.

Another possibility is that Brady plans to acknowledge the Patriots again at a later date. Some have even speculated that he could sign a one-day contract to retire as a member of the team, though that seems unlikely.

Brady and Belichick certainly had their differences, but they worked together for 20 years. Brady proved last year that he can win a Super Bowl without Belichick. He almost certainly would not have won six more without the help of the coach. The way Brady and Patriots owner Robert Kraft greeted each other earlier this season made it clear there is no animosity there.

It would be somewhat surprising if Brady mentions nothing about the Patriots in the coming weeks.