Latest On Tom Brady: Patriots, 49ers, Chargers, WRs, TEs

The Patriots saw their offense decline considerably last season. The team cycled through wideouts and did not come especially close to replacing Rob Gronkowski. With Tom Brady on the doorstep of free agency, this certainly marks an unusual time for the 11-time reigning AFC East champions.

New England is looking into potential trades for wide receivers and/or tight ends, Albert Breer of SI.com notes, perhaps to help entice Brady to return. A trade-happy franchise during more stable offseasons, the Pats exploring deals should not necessarily surprise. But it could pertain to their quarterback situation.

Brady worked with either Randy Moss or Gronkowski from 2007-2018 and had high-end Gronk replacement Martellus Bennett in the fold in 2016. But the Pats struggled for much of last season, failing to bring in a viable Gronk successor and seeing both Antonio Brown and Josh Gordon in uniform for a short time. Julian Edelman remains under contract, going into his age-34 season, and N’Keal Harry will ideally be available for the first half of the 2020 slate. But Brady has expressed a desire to be surrounded with more talent, per Breer, and the Patriots are now competing with other teams for their 19-year starting quarterback.

The Patriots — who acquired Bennett, Gordon, Phillip Dorsett and Brandin Cooks via trades in recent years — have just one week before the legal tampering period. It is also possible the Pats will use the trade market to upgrade around a Brady replacement. But for now, they are still interested in re-signing the future Hall of Famer.

The Titans and Chargers remain in the mix for Brady, with a few other teams likely looming with some degree of interest. The 49ers rumors that emerged last week were driven more by the Brady camp than the 49ers, Breer adds. While the Raiders may be pivoting to a cheaper quarterback option, Breer notes the Bolts are still in this chase. They have Keenan Allen and Mike Williams under contract and are expected to use their franchise tag on Hunter Henry, thus taking away a potential free agent option for the Patriots.

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