Eric Davis did not play for the New England Patriots, and he hasn’t played in the NFL since 2002. Based on that information, you wouldn’t think he has an inside scoop on Tom Brady.
But he might.
Davis does not believe Brady will be back with the Patriots next season.
“I don’t think so, and this is why,” Davis said on The Zach Gelb Show. “I’m not going to throw names out there, but there is someone I am friendly with, and we’ve been friends for quite some time – for years, decades – and he’s friends with the Krafts. He’s friends with Tom. They travel together, all sorts of things. So I know I’m narrowing down the field, but Tom made a comment to this person this past offseason. Before the beginning of the season, he talked about starting to think about retirement.”
That, Davis says, is telling.
“I played 13 years,” said Davis, an All-Pro cornerback and Super Bowl champion. “I know that when you start thinking about retiring, especially when you are an athlete like Tom, when you are that guy with that mindset that’s driving and the focus is on constantly improving and bringing up your players – and there have been years we’ve seen him carry the team. He’s had this singular focus about eating a certain way and taking care of his mind and body a certain way and everything that he’s been doing. When you start talking about retiring, the body is going to follow. When the brain starts thinking about it, the body will follow and you’ve already retired. So I said early on I thought this was going to be Tom’s last year.”
Brady, who turns 43 in August, averaged 253.6 passing yards per game this season – his fewest since 2010 (243.8). He also just endured his earliest playoff exit since 2009.
Brady, though, posted on Instagram that he still has “more to prove.”
“He may not [retire now, but] it’s coming,” Davis said. “It may not be this season, but he’s there. The body is going to follow the brain. High-end athletes, we don’t train our bodies; we train our brains. The body is going to follow. We train our brains. So if the brain starts saying, ‘I’m shutting this down soon,’ the body is going to shut it down and you won’t see the same performances. You won’t see guys doing the same things. I think some of that – no knock on Tom – but you saw it this year. We’ve seen Tom have seasons where everyone was saying, ‘Well, he doesn’t have a running game or he doesn’t have receivers or he doesn’t do this’ – and still, he beats everyone. It was a little tougher this year, even with the No. 1 defense.”
If Brady does elect to play in 2020, Davis believes he will remain a Patriot.
“If Belichick is still there, I think it’s New England,” Davis said. “I really do. I’ve thought for a long time they may walk away together.”