Taking a look at the likely Tom Brady games
Unless he ends up playing again (and he has opened the door to an in-season comeback), Tom Brady will call games for Fox this year. We know that his work will begin in Week 1 with Cowboys-Browns in Cleveland.
After that, it's unclear which games he'll work. Here are the likely games, as of right now.
These are just guesses based on the Fox games for each week. It's a harder thing to do in the weeks where Fox doesn't have a 4:25 p.m. ET national doubleheader.
This list is based on the games assigned to Fox in the schedule posted at NFL.com.
Off we go. . . .
Week 1: Cowboys at Browns, 4:25 p.m. ET. (As mentioned above, already announced.)
Week 2: Seahawks at Patriots, 1:00 p.m. ET. (Bucs-Lions divisional round rematch is a bigger game, but how could Fox not send Brady back to Foxboro for a Super Bowl XLIX reunion?)
Week 3: Ravens at Cowboys, 4:25 p.m. ET. (No-brainer.)
Week 4: Patriots at 49ers, 4:05 p.m. ET. (It's a late-afternoon regional kickoff, but how can Brady not work a game between his former team and his hometown team?)
Week 5: Dolphins at Patriots, 1:00 p.m. ET. (The NFL surely didn't cross-flex an early-afternoon AFC East rivalry for Brady to not work it.)
Week 6: Lions at Cowboys, 4:25 p.m. ET. (No-brainer.)
Week 7: Chiefs at 49ers, 4:25 p.m. ET. (No-brainer.)
Week 8: No obvious game. (Choices are Titans-Lions, Packers-Jags, Cards-Dolphins, Falcons-Bucs, Saints-Chargers, Bills-Seahawks. Maybe he gets a week off here.)
Week 9: Lions at Packers, 4:25 p.m. ET. (It could change to Rams-Seahawks if that's the bigger game after eight weeks.)
Week 10: 49ers at Buccaneers, 1:00 p.m. ET. (Patriots at Bears is also a possibility.)
Week 11: Rams at Patriots, 1:00 p.m. ET. (A different game becomes likely if the Pats are toast by then.)
Week 12: 49ers at Packers, 4:25 p.m. ET.
Week 13: Giants at Cowboys, 4:30 p.m. ET on Thanksgiving; possible Sunday off, with no great games in 1:00 p.m. ET window. (Seahawks-Jets would be the most viable, or maybe Rams-Saints at 4:05 p.m. ET.)
Week 14: Bills at Rams, 4:25 p.m. ET. (No-brainer, unless there's flexing based on either or both teams struggling.)
Week 15: Steelers at Eagles, 4:25 p.m. ET. (Maybe Bucs at Chargers.)
Week 16: Steelers at Ravens, 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. (Would they have him do a Sunday game, too? Lions-Bears or Eagles-Commanders would be the best choices.)
Week 17: Cowboys at Eagles, 4:25 p.m. ET.
Week 18: Everything is TBD; dates, times, and networks.
Brady will then do three rounds of playoff games and Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, the place where Brady won his first Super Bowl 23 years ago. Unless, again, he unretires — and is playing in the game.
