Charlie Weis: Tom Brady would be a top-10 to top-5 quarterback with 49ers

Last year, Tom Brady learned (as every former player does) that the NFL moved right along without. This year, Brady won’t be able to look away from the fact that players who aren’t as good as he is are playing, and he’s not.

How good could Brady be? Former Patriots offensive coordinator and Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis, appearing on WEEI’s The Greg Hill Show, said that Brady would be a top-10 to top-5 quarterback if he played for the 49ers. On the Patriots, per Weis, Brady would be closer to the middle of the pack.

That reality could cause real torment for Brady as he studies film and watches games in his job with Fox.

“I imagine not playing,” Brady told SI.com in 2021. “And I imagine watching football on Sundays going, These guys suck. I could do way better than that. And then still knowing in my heart that I actually could still do it.”

During the offseason, Brady opened the door to coming out of retirement during the season, as an injury replacement. If his goal was to get a team to offer him the 2024 starting job from Week 1, it didn’t work.

Recently, receiver Davante Adams said he’d like to see Brady come out of retirement and join the Raiders.

If/when injuries happen during the season, it will be interesting to see whether Brady’s phone rings. If, however, he ends up being approved as a minority owner of the Raiders, that door could close, permanently.

Frankly, it should have already been ringing. He likely still has the arm to play. And he has the appeal to put asses in the seats and eyeballs on the screens.