New England Patriots

Former NFL quarterback Tom Brady thanked New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick for congratulating him upon his retirement, calling him the "greatest coach in NFL history."

Adam Harding of NBC New York provided a shot of Brady's Instagram story that showed the quarterback's appreciation for his former coach's remarks:

Tom Brady thanks Bill Belichick, calling him the “Greatest Coach in NFL History.” HE EVEN USED THREE HEART EMOJIS. We’re good, Pats nation. pic.twitter.com/UCmFFjKOGC

— Adam Harding (@HardingReports) February 3, 2022

Brady and Belichick made nine Super Bowls and won six during their time together in New England from 2000 to 2019. The quarterback left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in free agency in 2020 and played for two more years before calling it quits.

Brady's initial retirement message did not mention the Patriots, calling into question why he omitted them after he played there for two decades.

ESPN's Seth Wickersham reported in March 2020 that the end of Brady's tenure in New England did not particularly go smoothly, with coach and player at odds.

Still, it appears things may be better on the surface following Brady's exchange if the IG story is any indication.

Ultimately, no player has ever had more individual success than Brady, and the same goes for Belichick. The two will be connected forever in NFL lore.

After Tom Brady's retirement from the NFL on Tuesday, his longtime coach Bill Belichick released a statement on Wednesday with some high praise for his former quarterback.

"I am privileged to have drafted and coached Tom Brady, the ultimate competitor and winner," Belichick said. "Tom's humble beginning in professional football ultimately ended with him becoming the best player in NFL history."

The ultimate competitor.

Statement from Bill Belichick on Tom Brady: https://t.co/vYpiKZEKDG pic.twitter.com/mOsgSJsuEk

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) February 3, 2022

The 44-year-old Brady made his retirement official in an Instagram post, writing, "I am not going to make that competitive commitment anymore. I have loved my NFL career, and now it is time to focus my time and energy on other things that require my attention."

In 22 seasons, Brady won seven Super Bowl titles, the most by a single player in NFL history. He was named Super Bowl MVP five times. Belichick coached Brady with the Patriots for the first 20 seasons of his career and six championships.

Brady left New England in free agency in 2020 and joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He led the Buccaneers to their second Super Bowl victory in his first year and the team's fourth NFC South championship this season. Tampa Bay fell to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Divisional Round in this year's playoffs.

Brady's stellar career includes a slew of NFL records. He holds the marks for most touchdown passes (624), most passing yards (84,250), most regular-season wins (243) and most playoff wins in NFL history (35).

There was some uproar over Brady not mentioning the Patriots or Belichick in his retirement announcement. He took to Twitter afterward and thanked "Patriot Nation."

Alabama head coach Nick Saban isn't planning to be in the market for a new offensive coordinator this offseason.

ESPN's Adam Schefter last week named Crimson Tide offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Bill O'Brien as a possible replacement for Josh McDaniels as the offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots.

On Wednesday, Saban downplayed the rumors.

"We have no indication of that, other than what y'all put on the internet right now, which is a lot of maybes," he told reporters. "We're not trying to address anything that might happen."

Nobody expects O'Brien to be on the Alabama staff for the long haul.

Following the success of Lane Kiffin from 2014-16, the Crimson Tide offensive coordinator position has served as a springboard to bigger and better things.

Kiffin returned to the head coach ranks at Florida Atlantic in 2017 and has spent the last two years as the head coach at Ole Miss. His replacement, Brian Daboll, was at Alabama for only one season before filling the Buffalo Bills' offensive coordinator vacancy and just became the head coach for the New York Giants. It was Steve Sarkisian's turn in 2019, and he parlayed two years with the Tide into the head job at Texas.

O'Brien's experience with New England makes a move to the Patriots plausible. He joined the franchise as an offensive assistant in 2007 and moved up to become offensive coordinator in 2011. He then became the head coach for Penn State (2012-13) and the Houston Texans (2014-20).

"His experience developing quarterbacks and calling plays would make him a strong [fit] for the role," The Athletic's Matthew Fairburn wrote of the 52-year-old's potential to succeed McDaniels. "Belichick typically hires coaches he's familiar with, and O'Brien checks that box as well."

Alabama's offensive coordinator turnover has done little to hurt the team on the field. The Tide won the national championship in 2017 after Kiffin left and were the national runners-up following Daboll's and Sarkisian's departures.

Should O'Brien bolt, it will probably be business as usual for Saban, and he'll have no shortage of interested candidates for the position.

A Tom Brady 2002 Topps Finest X-Fractor hit $118,000 at auction on Monday, according to the Associated Press.

The AP noted the card was one of only 20 for that insert, thus putting a premium on the price tag.

The 2002 Topps Finest set was released after Brady won the first of his seven Super Bowls. He threw for 2,843 yards and 18 touchdowns in the regular season before helping guide the New England Patriots on an improbable title run.

As one would expect, Brady's trading cards have become hot commodities, especially when it comes to his rookie ones. Bidding for one of his autographed rookie inserts ended at $3.1 million in June.

After the future Hall of Famer announced his retirement Tuesday, the market for his memorabilia is likely to be even more competitive.

After initially leaving out the New England Patriots in his retirement announcement Tuesday, Tom Brady thanked his former team:

.@TomBrady says thanks to the Patriots 🙏 pic.twitter.com/PnhmWUhPw5

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 1, 2022

The message came in a response to a statement from Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

Brady's initial announcement featured a nine-slide post on Instagram that referenced the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, their coaches, general manager Jason Licht, the Glazer family, the fans and the city of Tampa, among others.

However, there was no mention of the Patriots, with whom he spent the first 20 of his 22 years in the NFL.

Brady helped bring New England six Super Bowl titles, but there were still mixed feelings when he left in free agency in 2020. There was reportedly a growing split between Brady and head coach Bill Belichick, which eventually led to the quarterback leaving. 

Brady still received mostly cheers from the crowd when he returned to Gillette Stadium in Week 4 this past season.

That made it notable when he didn't initially mention the Patriots:

Tom Brady wrote 962 words to announce his retirement. Number of times the Pats are mentioned: 0 https://t.co/wrLx6JOrW2 pic.twitter.com/tfi3GJTIbM

— Boston.com Patriots News (@BDCPatriots) February 1, 2022

In response to Kraft's statement, Brady added that he's "beyond grateful" and thanked "Patriots Nation," but it might not be enough to satisfy some overlooked parties.    

Tom Brady's lengthy retirement post included a thank you to everyone who helped him get through his final two NFL seasons.

The first 20? Not so much.

Brady's retirement post on Instagram did not feature a single mention of the New England Patriots, coach Bill Belichick or Patriots fans. 

Among Tom Brady’s posts announcing his retirement pic.twitter.com/e1McRXLFwU

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 1, 2022

While it's likely that New Englanders clutched their cups of Dunkin' a little harder this morning as they read the post and didn't see even a scant mention of them, it is worth noting Brady penned a farewell that ran two years ago in the Players' Tribune: 

"'Tomm-eeee! Tomm-eee!' I would hear that echoing through the stands, and it always meant so much to me. The support sometimes went deeper than that. Recently a friend told me that her sister was pregnant with her first child, a boy — and that she planned on naming him Brady. She was telling me this, she said, so that I'd realize the impact my playing for New England had had on so many people's lives. Hearing that, I felt so humbled by the idea that when some people think of me, it's with a warmth in their heart or their spirit. There's no better legacy I can think of than that."

In the world of Brady, perhaps that sufficed as his farewell to the region that he called home for two decades. He also had an Instagram post at the time that was captioned "FOREVER A PATRIOT."

It was quite the ride.

Thank you and congratulations, @TomBrady. pic.twitter.com/0gPwUROEkz

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) February 1, 2022

That's unlikely to provide solace for Patriots fans—or those who want to needle Pats fans about their lack of being mentioned. It's equally worth noting that Brady's Players Tribune column expressed a need to leave New England and the shadow of Bill Belichick to strike out on his own.

He did just that for the last two seasons, remaining at an MVP level longer than any quarterback in NFL history while New England worked to rebuild without its franchise stalwart.

It seems unlikely this was a purposeful slight on Brady's part. Even as tensions brewed late in his Patriots tenure, there was always a healthy respect between Brady and the organization with which he won six Super Bowls. Brady's post was mostly a goodbye to Tampa and a reflection on his last two seasons, rather than anything that encapsulated his whole career.

That said, there are undoubtedly some hurt feelings today. 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady has officially announced his retirement after 22 NFL seasons.

Brady's player resume stands alone as the greatest in NFL history. He holds the all-time records for Super Bowl wins (seven), Super Bowl MVP awards (five), playoff wins (35), regular-season wins (243), passing yards (84,520) and passing touchdowns (624), among other accolades.

The three-time All-Pro also won three NFL regular-season MVP awards and once held the single-season passing touchdown record (50, set in 2007).

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell congratulated Brady after the quarterback announced his retirement:

Roger Goodell on Tom Brady’s retirement. pic.twitter.com/IMl49R3L2K

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) February 1, 2022

Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians also showed his appreciation:

Tom joined us as the greatest football player of all time, and he quickly showed everyone in our organization what that meant. He set a standard and helped create a culture that took our team to the mountaintop. It has been an honor to be his head coach for the past two seasons. I wish it didn't have to end, but few players have the opportunity to leave the game on their own terms. Even fewer can do it while playing at an elite level. Tom is the exception. I have a deep appreciation and respect for what he has done for our franchise, and I wish him and his family nothing but the best in this next chapter of life after football.

Reports circulated Saturday that Brady, who will turn 45 years old in August, was set to retire. ESPN's Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington broke the news, and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network also reported that Brady was set to retire.

Brady's agent, Don Yee, said his client would reveal his future plans shortly:

Statement from Tom Brady’s agent Don Yee: pic.twitter.com/vbUhSToYtT

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 29, 2022

Brady's father, Tom Brady Sr., also denied the reports in a conversation with Mike Giardi of NFL Network.

Brady ultimately did decide to retire, however, ending the greatest playing career in NFL history.

Expectations weren't high for the ex-Michigan Wolverine when the New England Patriots selected Brady in the sixth round with the No. 199 overall draft pick out of Michigan in 2000.

He sat behind starter Drew Bledsoe in his first season but got the call to be the QB1 after the veteran signal-caller suffered serious injuries, including internal bleeding, following a hit from New York Jets linebacker Mo Lewis in Week 2 of the 2001 campaign.

The rest is history as Brady helped lead the Pats to their first Super Bowl win.

New England went 11-5 after going 5-11 the year before and finished its season beating the heavily favored St. Louis Rams in the Super Bowl.

Brady guided the Patriots to Super Bowl victories in 2003 and 2004 and nearly did so in 2007 with an undefeated team.

However, the New York Giants shut down the Brady-led offense and scored a late touchdown to secure a Super Bowl XLII win and send the Patriots home with an 18-1 record and without a Lombardi Trophy.

Brady wasn't able to lead the Patriots in 2008 after a hit from Kansas City Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard caused a season-ending torn left ACL.

He returned in 2009 and got back to the Super Bowl in 2011, when the Giants beat the Pats yet again.

Brady led the Patriots to Super Bowl wins in 2014, 2016 and 2018, however, to give himself six rings for his career. 

The quarterback threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes in Super Bowl XLIX to lead the Patriots to a 28-24 win over the Seattle Seahawks.

Two years later, Brady guided an epic 28-3 comeback over the Atlanta Falcons, piloting the Pats to a 34-28 overtime win. He finished that game with a Super Bowl-record 466 passing yards.

Brady's career isn't without controversy. He was alleged to have ordered the deliberate (and illegal) deflation of footballs during the 2014 AFC Championship Game, which the Pats won 45-7 over the Indianapolis Colts.

After a lengthy soap opera that landed in multiple courts, Brady was suspended for the first four games of the 2016 season.

There were also murmurs of issues with head coach Bill Belichick, such as the coach's alleged concerns regarding Brady's personal trainer (and TB12 Sports co-founder) Alex Guerrero.

Belichick stripped Guerrero of previously granted privileges (including treating any players outside Brady) in 2017, per Bob Hohler of the Boston Globe.

Eventually, the Belichick-Brady relationship, as noted by ESPN's Seth Wickersham, deteriorated enough that the quarterback left in free agency for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the 2020 offseason.

Brady didn't lose a step in Tampa Bay, throwing for 40 touchdowns and 4,633 passing yards and leading the Bucs to their second Super Bowl win (and his seventh).

His second season in Tampa ended in playoff disappointment with a 30-27 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC divisional round, but Brady continued to defy logic at age 44, throwing for an NFL-high 44 touchdowns for the NFC South champions.

Remarkably, Brady appeared to have plenty left in the tank this season as he dominated despite being in his mid-40s.

However, he will retire during a two-decade prime that destroyed any logic fans have about the longevity of peak athletic performance.

New England Patriots rookie Mac Jones was named to the 2022 Pro Bowl after some of the AFC's quarterbacks opted out of playing in the annual event, the team announced Sunday.

#ProBowl bound!

Congratulations, @MacJones_10: https://t.co/jTQ6EPM7tF

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) January 30, 2022

Dallas Cowboys star Dak Prescott was the last rookie quarterback to be named to the Pro Bowl when he was selected in 2016.

It's a nice ending to the 2021 season for Jones, who won New England's starting quarterback job in training camp over veteran Cam Newton and led the team back to the postseason with a 10-7 record.

Jones, the 15th overall pick in the 2021 draft, completed 67.6 percent of his passes for 3,801 yards, 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions during his rookie campaign.

The Alabama product was so successful that's he's up for the Rookie of the Year award alongside Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase, Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris, Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts and Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons.

The Pro Bowl will be a nice opportunity for Jones to showcase his talent before officially entering the offseason and preparing for the 2022 season in which he's expected to take a significant step forward.

The initial Pro Bowl roster had Los Angeles Chargers star Justin Herbert, Kansas City Chiefs signal-caller Patrick Mahomes and Baltimore Ravens veteran Lamar Jackson as the AFC's three quarterbacks.

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen declined an invitation to the Pro Bowl last week, saying he wanted to let his body recover. In addition,  Jackson won't participate in the event because of an injury, according to ESPN's Chris Mortensen.

Aside from Jones and Prescott, other rookie quarterbacks to previously be named to the Pro Bowl include Jameis Winston (2015), Robert Griffin III (2012), Andrew Luck (2012), Russell Wilson (2012), Andy Dalton (2011), Cam Newton (2011), Vince Young (2006), Dan Marino (1983), Bob Griese (1967) and Joe Namath (1965). 

Longtime New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who spent the final two seasons of his decorated 22-year career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, announced his retirement Tuesday after building perhaps the most impressive resume in NFL history.

ESPN's Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington reported Saturday that Brady was set to walk away from football with seven Super Bowl titles, the all-time record for a player.

The first-ballot Hall of Famer officially confirmed that decision in an Instagram post Tuesday:

Tom Brady officially retires. Among his posts… pic.twitter.com/o9GqgRKsoO

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 1, 2022

His countless individual accolades include 15 Pro Bowl selections, five Super Bowl MVP Awards, three regular-season MVP Awards and two NFL Offensive Player of the Year honors.

GOAT. #ThankYouTom pic.twitter.com/6NJ4ODwSoO

— NFL (@NFL) January 29, 2022

Brady finishes his career with the most regular-season completions (7,263), passing yards (84,520) and passing touchdowns (624) in NFL history. He added 13,049 yards and 86 TD passes across 47 career playoff games.

Tom Brady’s resume is unmatched: ⁰⁰7x Super Bowl Champion
5x Super Bowl MVP
3x NFL MVP
15x Pro Bowl
5x NFL Passing Touchdowns Leader
4x NFL Passing Yards Leader
2x NFL Offensive Player of the Year
3x First-Team All-Pro⁰⁰What a run pic.twitter.com/FSiYYh3mD0

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 29, 2022

The 44-year-old University of Michigan product, who wasn't selected until the sixth round of the 2000 draft, recorded an astounding 243-73 record in the regular season and a 35-12 mark in the playoffs.

Tom Brady is retiring after 22 seasons, according to @AdamSchefter & @JeffDarlington.

He finishes his career with the most wins, touchdown passes, and pass yards in both the regular season and playoffs. His 7 Super Bowl wins are more than any other franchise. pic.twitter.com/VcZ9YL4P5G

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 29, 2022

He was named to both the NFL's 2000s All-Decade Team and 2010s All-Decade Team, and he was chosen for the league's 100th Anniversary All-Time Team in 2019.

Brady's honors extended beyond the gridiron, as well. He was voted the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year twice, in 2005 and 2021, and the Associated Press' Male Athlete of the Year in 2007.

The California native enjoyed numerous memorable moments during his two decades with the Pats and added several more during his stint with the Bucs over a career that spanned five U.S. presidents.

In October, Brady explained on the Let's Go! podcast (via CBS Sports' John Breech) his favorite memory is the Patriots' Super Bowl XLIX triumph over the Seattle Seahawks in February 2015:

In terms of football, if I'm thinking about football and one moment, I'm thinking about the Seattle Super Bowl. That's probably the one moment... the first three [Super Bowl wins] happened really quick and then I think I went 10 years and realized 'Holy s--t, this is really hard.' And how lucky I was, naive and lucky, for the first three. ...

In [2007], loss. In [2011], loss. I thought, 'This is impossible.' Then we won [against the Seahawks] on a miraculous play and since then, it was like a great appreciation every time it happened. There was no taking anything for granted and it was just, that was a really pivotal moment of football in my life. That was football, the ultimate joy.

That victory was capped by a Malcolm Butler interception of Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson at the goal line in the final seconds to preserve the Patriots' 28-24 win. It was one of the greatest finishes in Super Bowl history.

TB12 🐐 @brgridiron pic.twitter.com/B9L1zAQVwX

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 29, 2022

Brady will make the trip to Canton in five years' time to take his rightful place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and he's got as strong a case as any in the NFL GOAT debate.