Page 19 - ARUBA TODAY

A19
SPORTS Wednesday 11 March 2020
Brady uncertainty overshadows other free agency options

By BARRY WILNER back would land in New
AP Pro Football Writer England if Brady leaves.
It probably makes sense Meanwhile, the QB carou-
when a six-time Super Bowl sel is obscuring the horizon.
champion, and a quar- If you can look beyond the
terback to boot, enters passers, there are some
free agency that his every playmakers who could
move overshadows the rest have a major impact wher-
of the available players. ever they go.
It does get nonsensical, of Seattle edge rusher Jade-
course, when Tom Brady veon Clowney has to whet
saying he's headed on appetites in cities where a
a family vacation draws sackmaster is a desperate
headlines and massive so- need. Clowney, who was
cial media reaction. Hey, dealt from Houston to Se-
folks, virtually every NFL attle last year and played
player goes on holiday in well when healthy for the
the offseason. You can Seahawks, hardly is the only
bet a few of the other free disrupter on defense who
agents in this crop are do- is available. Chris Jones
ing so right now. helped the Chiefs win the
Naturally, Brady's situation is Super Bowl. Tampa Bay's
the most intriguing of them In this Jan. 4, 2020, file photo, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady speaks to the media Shaq Barrett is a tackling
all. Perhaps even more following an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Tennessee Titans in Foxborough, machine. Jacksonville's
so than Peyton Manning's Mass. Yannick Ngakoue is a con-
when he became free from Associated Press sistent pass rush threat who
the Colts in 2013. and proving that he has — walk away from Foxbor- who led them to the Super also can play the run. Justin
The bond between Brady been the main catalyst in ough, there are plenty. Yep, Bowl last season — or the Simmons and Byron Jones
and New England Patri- the Patriots' championship even for a QB who will turn Texans, who have Deshaun are more than reliable de-
ots owner Robert Kraft has run — is very enticing to 43 in August; more teams Watson; Brady does had fensive backs.
been strong. Remember Brady. have been speculated in a history of winning with The upcoming draft is so
that Kraft defended his QB Also consider the finances the competition, should it Houston coach Bill O'Brien. deep in receivers that free
and basically opposed all if the Patriots don't sign him exist, than not involved. Meanwhile, a bevy of other agents at that position such
his fellow owners during before free agency be- Indeed, about the only standouts are on the mar- as Amari Cooper and Em-
the deflated footballs saga gins March 18. There's the teams not mentioned as ket, not to mention a load manuel Sanders might not
that followed the 2014 AFC possibility the team would possible suitors are the Kan- of quarterbacks with plenty find the price they seek. But
title game. Minus a sal- need to pay a substantial sas City Chiefs (Patrick Ma- of starting experience (and running back isn't nearly
ary cap, Kraft would favor "penalty," under collec- homes), Baltimore Ravens some success). as loaded for the draft,
paying any number Brady tive bargaining rules, that (Lamar Jackson), Seattle The QB market features and with his performance
mentioned. would cut deeply into its Seahawks (Russell Wilson), Philip Rivers, Jameis Win- last season — particularly
Even with the cap, New salary cap room. Should Green Bay Packers (Aaron ston, Andy Dalton, Teddy in leading the Titans to the
England has almost $44 mil- Brady command a $30 mil- Rodgers), Philadelphia Ea- Bridgewater, Dak Prescott, AFC title game — Derrick
lion of room. lion salary for 2020 in a new gles (Carson Wentz) and Ryan Tannehill and Marcus Henry should be at the top
Brady's loyalty to his coach contract, plus that penalty New Orleans Saints (they Mariota. of many lists if Tennessee
seems to have come into money, the cap hit would aren't dropping Drew Brees Many of their moves could doesn't franchise him.
question, not just since New be humongous. for Brady). depend on where Brady Not that anyone would
England's season ended in As for landing spots should There even are the wild winds up. There already are know about it with every
the wild-card round, but in the most successful quar- projections of San Francis- betting odds available not Brady rumor getting mas-
previous years. terback of our time — and co as the 49ers get turned only on where Brady plays sive social media and air
So maybe moving on — pretty much league history off of Jimmy Garoppolo — in 2020 but which quarter- play.q

Back in game: NFL announces partnership with 2K Sports

By JOE REEDY felt natural for us to be re- of the more popular foot- Argent, 2K senior VP for eration gaming consoles
AP Sports Writer viving our partnership with ball games among long- sports strategy and licens- from Sony and Microsoft.
Gamers have long hoped 2K," said Rachel Hoagland, time gamers because it ing. "We're excited to get Whether the 2K-NFL part-
that 2K Sports would return the league's vice president was ahead of its time with going and make some fun nership will serve as a
to producing NFL video and head of gaming & strategy and realism. 2K of- games." Since last produc- springboard to a deeper
games. Those wishes will esports. "We've worked ficials say they remain in ing an NFL game, 2K has relationship remains to
come true next year. with them in the past early development stages made the biggest impact be seen. The league con-
The NFL and 2K announced and when we looked at for titles and concepts. with its NBA game, which tract with EA for simulation
Tuesday a multiyear part- broadening our portfolio, It might be along the lines remains one of the top- games is up for renewal af-
nership for games. It's the it made sense." The con- of a seven-on-seven game selling titles each year. ter the 2021 season.
first time since 2004 that tract covers NFL-themed that mimics backyard or Its WWE series has also Electronic Arts said in a
2K has produced an NFL and non-simulation video neighborhood football. increased in popularity statement that their agree-
game. games, meaning 2K won't Something similar was pro- in recent years. The first ment with the NFL has "al-
"The league has been ex- be producing a direct duced in the early 2000s NFL-themed games from lowed for non-exclusive
panding its presence into competitor to Electronic by Sony and EA. 2K will debut in mid-2021. development of non-sim-
gaming and it has been Art's "Madden" series. The "This has been quite a long That should be shortly af- ulation games on various
an important focus to us. It NFL 2K5 title remains one time coming," said Jason ter the debut of new gen- platforms."q