Karen Guregian reports that Patriots QB Tom Brady is at Gillette Stadium on Monday with his teammates and he will be in attendance for the start of mandatory minicamp on Tuesday.
Brady skipped voluntary OTA workouts this offseason, which is unusual for him, but the expectation has been that both he and TE Ron Gronkowski will return this week for minicamp, so this shouldn’t come as a big surprise.
This offseason, some wondered if Brady could walk away from the game and retirement.
However, Brady’s agent, Don Yee, confirmed to Schefter that he expects his client to return for the 2018 season.
“Tom’s intentions have not changed,” Yee said Monday. “He’s consistently said he’ll play beyond this contract and into his mid 40s, or until he feels he isn’t playing at a championship level. I understand the constant speculation, but this is one point he’s been firm about.”
Yee added that his client is still training every day in preparation for the 2018 season.
“He customizes his preparation to each season in order to maximize his performance,” Yee said. “His training methods are always evolving and getting better. The year he missed the first four games — that month of training on his own was particularly efficient.”
Regarding his contract, Yee said: “His objective every year is to outperform his contract and his own goals. And like every player, yes, he thinks about his contract — it’s a pretty natural thing to do. Every team’s management knows this.”
Brady, 40, is a former sixth-round pick of the Patriots back in 2000. He signed a two-year, $41 million contract extension with the Patriots back in 2016, which included a $28 million signing bonus. Brady stands to make a base salary of just $15 million in both 2018 and 2019.
In 2017, Brady appeared in all 16 games for the Patriots and threw for 4,577 yards while completing 66.3 percent of his passes to go along with 32 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 1 quarterback out of 39 qualifying players.
Looking for the latest NFL Insider News & Rumors?
Be sure to follow NFL Trade Rumors on TWITTER and FACEBOOK for breaking NFL News and Rumors for all 32 teams!
