Robert Kraft wants Tom Brady to make one final Patriots return originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
If Robert Kraft has his way, you'll see Tom Brady back with the New England Patriots in the near future.
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Brady's playing days appear to be over after the 45-year-old quarterback announced his NFL retirement -- "for good" this time -- on Wednesday. But Kraft made it explicitly clear Thursday morning he wants Brady to sign a one-day contract with the Patriots to retire as a member of the team that drafted him.
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"I'd do it tomorrow," the Patriots owner said during an interview with CNN's Don Lemon and Poppy Harlow. "Not only do I want it -- our fans are clamoring for it. To us, he is, always has been, and always will be a Patriot. ...
"I don't like to make a commitment for him, but we will do everything in our power to bring him back, have him sign off as a Patriot and find ways to honor him for many years to come."
Kraft made a similar statement back in October 2021 when Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers visited Gillette Stadium for the QB's only matchup against his former team. The Patriots owner has long been Brady's public champion -- even after Brady left the Patriots in 2020 free agency to sign with the Bucs -- so it's no surprise he wants Brady back to sign a symbolic one-day contract with the team.
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"Tommy, I'm always here for you. You are part of our family," Kraft said on CNN when asked to deliver a final message to Brady. "I just love the guy so much and there isn't anything I wouldn't do for him."
The question is whether Brady is up for returning to New England, where he didn't leave on the best of terms in March 2020. Time has appeared to heal most of those wounds, however, as Brady was effusive in his praise of head coach Bill Belichick last season and even claimed he watched every Patriots game.
So, if Brady is ready to let bygones be bygones and give a symbolic tip of the cap to the franchise where he won six of his seven Super Bowl titles, it sounds like he'll have an open invitation.
