NFL

Brady not expecting a 'homecoming' in return to New England

By Sports Desk September 28, 2021

Tom Brady does not anticipate getting caught up in nostalgia when he returns to New England to face the Patriots on Sunday. 

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback spent 20 years with the Patriots, leading them to six Super Bowl titles. 

Gillette Stadium holds countless memories for Brady, but he will do his best to push them aside as the Bucs enter the game on the heels of their first loss since November 29, 2020. 

"I'm not going to necessarily reminisce. I don't think this is the moment for that," Brady said on his SiriusXM podcast Monday. "I'll have plenty opportunities to reminisce about my football career – none of it, none of which I really care to do right now because I'm so much in the moment.

"I'm not going to be thinking about 20 years of history. I'm going to be thinking about one night of football, a Sunday night game coming off a really tough loss."

The reigning Super Bowl champions had won 10 in a row before being derailed in a 34-24 defeat to the Los Angeles Rams. 

Brady undoubtedly will receive a warm welcome from the fans in New England, but he knows that support will not last. 

"I wouldn't expect that -- a homecoming," said Brady. "I mean, I think they're there to root for their team, and their team is the Patriots.

"I think they're gonna cheer for their team as I would expect them to, and I think if they know anything about me, they're gonna know that I'm going out there to try to win the football game, so I think they'll respect that about me."

That mindset will come as no surprise to the home fans, who watched Brady work his magic for two decades. 

Sunday, he will go head-to-head with his heir apparent, rookie Mac Jones, who beat out Cam Newton for the starting job in the pre-season. 

The 23-year-old had a dose of NFL reality in Sunday's 28-13 home loss to the New Orleans Saints, as he completed only 30 of 51 passes (58.8 per cent) and threw three interceptions on the heels of a pair of solid starts to open his career. 

Brady, meanwhile, keeps chugging along. He threw for 432 yards but just one touchdown in the loss to the Rams after combining for nine TDs in wins over the Dallas Cowboys and Atlanta Falcons as he eases into his 22nd NFL season. 

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