Tom Brady shoots down retirement, but still favored to return to Patriots

The new NFL league year doesn't begin until March 18, and that's also when the free-agency period opens for the 2020 season. Has there ever been a more accomplished potential free agent than Tom Brady? The GOAT has won a record six Super Bowls but did regress some in the 2019 regular season while also struggling in a Wild-Card Weekend home upset loss to the Tennessee Titans.

Even though Brady will be 43 by the start of the 2020 season, he made it all but crystal clear that he wants to keep playing. In an Instagram post Wednesday, Brady wrote, among other things: "In both life and football, failure is inevitable. You don't always win. You can, however, learn from that failure, pick yourself up with great enthusiasm, and place yourself in the arena again. And that's right where you will find me. Because I know I still have more to prove."

Brady is an unrestricted free agent as his just-expired contract with the Patriots included a clause that the team could not slap the franchise or transition tag on Brady. Thus, if Brady did really want to finish his career elsewhere – his house in Boston is for sale and Brady reportedly stepped down from the board of one of his major charities – then there's nothing stopping him.

Tough to imagine Brady leaving the Patriots; maybe cold-blooded Bill Belichick is ready to start anew at quarterback, but owner Robert Kraft loves Brady like a son. SportsLine NFL oddsmakers list Brady playing Week 1 of the 2020 season with New England as a -300 favorite.

The Los Angeles Chargers are next at +200; the Bolts are likely to move on from a regressing Philip Rivers and Brady would inject some much-needed buzz into that franchise as it moves into that $5 billion new stadium with the Rams. The Chargers also appear to have a Super Bowl-caliber roster despite a disappointing 2019 season.

Indianapolis is +600 with the Las Vegas Raiders at +700 on the NFL futures odds. The Colts also have an excellent roster and Brady would surely be an upgrade on Jacoby Brissett. Would Brady really want to go play where Peyton Manning used to reign supreme, though? The Raiders could use Brady to help build buzz in their new city. Jon Gruden and Brady? That might be fun.

Cleveland (+1000) and Chicago (+1500) round out the options. The Browns largely on the chance that they hire Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels as their next head coach. Chicago needs an upgrade under center on Mitchell Trubisky. Both the Browns and Bears have talented enough rosters to make a Super Bowl run in 2020 with the right quarterback.