Patriots QB Brady unfazed by unsettled future

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who is scheduled to be a free agent on March 18, said Saturday that he isn’t putting a timetable on making a decision about his future plans.

“The contract things, a week after the season, I would say these things haven’t even started to pick up. It’s really not my concern at this point,” Brady told host Jim Gray in his weekly interview with Westwood One. “It’s been about decompressing and resting my mind a little bit and resting my body and spending time with the people who have supported me over the last six months.”

Patriots owner Robert Kraft told Peter King of NBC Sports that his “hope and prayer” is that the 42-year-old Brady either plays for New England or retires.

In his Westwood One interview, Brady once against asserted his plans to play in 2020. When asked about Kraft’s remarks, Brady said, “I love playing football. I love playing for this organization. I really don’t know what it looks like moving forward, and I’m just taking it day to day.”

“We are a week removed from the end of our season,” Brady continued. “There is a lot of time to figure these things out. I don’t think any player or team is ready to make any commitments at this point, and I’m sure as the offseason progresses those things will take care of themselves.”

Brady agreed to a revised contract with the Patriots in August, and sources said the sides haven’t had any substantial talks about an extension since that time.

In his season-ending news conference, Patriots coach Bill Belichick acknowledged that Brady is an “iconic figure in the organization” before adding that any decision about his future will come in time and involve multiple people. Belichick also said, “Nobody respects Tom more than I do.”

Brady was asked about continued speculation on his future in the Westwood One interview.

“I can only say how I feel, and that’s what’s the truth to me and what’s authentic to me,” he said. “And I have no decision that I have made, and there won’t be for some considerable time. So I know there is speculation. There always is. That’s just part of being in professional sports. That’s part of being a professional athlete.

“When people aren’t talking about this season, they want to talk about next season, and the reality is that next season is quite a ways away. I have some other things that are happening at this time. Like I said, spending some time with my family, my loved ones and giving them the time they need. And then as people begin to plan for next season, like I said, these things will take care of themselves.”

On Wednesday, Brady posted a thank you message to Patriots fans in which he wrote that he has more to prove. He was asked what that might be.

“It’s always been proving it to myself and being motivated internally to push myself to the limits. Sometimes the limits push back. I’ve experienced that,” he said in the radio interview. “But I also think I’m inspired by so many people who push the limits. I love watching documentaries of incredible human feats. They’re inspiring. People climb these mountains and do things that people never thought were possible. I’m at a certain point in my career where people think what I’m doing is to a degree impossible.

“For me, it’s about continuing to prove to myself that I can lay it on the line, and we can still try to achieve the ultimate goal, which is winning Super Bowls.”