As strange as it may sound or envision, the NFL world is looking at the very real possibility of Tom Brady suiting up in 2020 not in a New England Patriots uniform. For the first time in his 20-year NFL career, Brady will be able to decide his fate and where he goes next as he'll become an unrestricted free agent on March 18. As the resident Boston-based NFL writer here on staff, I passionately volunteered have been tapped to state the case for Brady to stick around Foxborough for the rest of his football days.

Do we know what Brady will ultimately do? No and I'm not quite sure he does either. What does seem likely is that he's going to test the market, speed date with a few teams and eventually hand a rose to one lucky franchise Bachelor-style. Well, maybe that last part isn't all too likely. Nevertheless, I'm here to explain why, even after checking a couple lawns across the league, the grass is still the greenest in New England.  

Ready? Let's go. 

My colleague, Cody Benjamin, disagrees with me and believes Brady should (gulp) leave New England.

Familiarity 

There is not another team in the league that Tom Brady knows better than the one he's got, which should be looked at as a much bigger advantage than it's currently getting credit for. While New England naturally goes through various assistant coaching changes throughout an offseason (as most successful clubs do), the fact that they were once again able to retain offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels cannot be overstated. Had McDaniels jumped ship and landed with the Carolina Panthers (or any other club) as their next head coach earlier this offseason, that likely would've drastically hurt the Patriots' chances at retaining Brady. If that became the case, the Patriots lose a bit of their continuity, which Brady should value. Again, McDaniels' presence is major.

It's still Brady's offense and his trusted co-pilot is still at the helm. The playbook and the verbiage is all intact. If Brady departs, you're talking about having to learn a new language. Sure, a prospective club could -- likely would -- cater the offense around Brady to a degree, but it's far easier to have one player learn a system that is already in place rather than have an entire offense learn Brady-ology. Yeah, Spanish and Italian may be similar, but if you've only been speaking Spanish for 20 years, it's going to take you a bit to start spewing some Italian phrases -- let alone be fluent. 

For a player like Brady, who has admirably made the decision to skip voluntary offseason workouts over the previous few years to spend more time with his family, learning an entirely new offensive system and knowing it inside-and-out over the course of an offseason is a big ask. If he follows a similar offseason path and only shows up for mandatory workouts, it becomes that much more difficult. The fact that the New England offense is almost instinctually in Brady's DNA at this point should be looked at as a big plus. No other destination can offer that. 

Pats still presents the best chance to win another Super Bowl

Did it really take just one Wild Card Weekend loss for people to think the Patriots stink? Foxborough is still far and away the place to be if you want to contend, likely be in and/or win the Super Bowl.

A large reason for that is, of course, Bill Belichick. While there's plenty of rumors suggesting that the relationship between Belichick and Brady is more boss-to-employer than father-to-son or even colleague-to-colleague, the two are still the best in the business at what they do and are better together than apart. As much as there may be a curiosity from football fans (myself included) -- and quite possibly both Brady and Belichick -- to see what each member of this dynastic duo can do without one another, the move that is most likely to produce Super Bowls is no move at all.

Even beyond the coaching standpoint, the roster is not in as bad of shape as some like to suggest it is. The Patriots boasted the No. 1 defense in the NFL a season ago and if Antonio Brown and/or Josh Gordon's off-the-field demons didn't catch up to them, you're talking about an offense that can now put up points on a consistent basis. Had that happened in 2019, New England likely doesn't fall on its face at the end of the regular season, remains the No. 2 seed in the AFC and then who knows what happens. If Brown stayed out of trouble, I'm probably not even writing this piece, if we're being honest. 

What this all is trying to illustrate is that a Brady-led Patriots team can still very much be a Super Bowl contender. They just need to add a few pieces on offense to help him out, which they are reportedly trying to do. The return of starting center David Andrews and fullback James Develin, two key pieces to their Super Bowl LIII run, will also be a plus. Defensively, they may lose the likes of linebacker Kyle Van Noy in free agency, but other core pieces to that top-ranked unit will likely be around in 2020. 

As it relates to the road, there's still no path easier to the postseason than the AFC East. Buffalo is making positive strides, but this is still a division the Patriots should win rather easily. The same cannot be said for clubs that Brady has been linked to. If he were to join the Titans in the AFC South, Brady would be duking it out with Deshaun Watson's Texans on a yearly basis. The AFC West is an even bigger beast. If he signed with either the Raiders or Chargers, you're talking about head-to-heads with Patrick Mahomes and the reigning Super Bowl champion Chiefs. That's less than ideal. 

Becoming the Derek Jeter and Kobe Bryant of the NFL

There's a school of thought out there that there's nothing left for Tom Brady to prove in New England. While that's mostly true, he can certainly continue to add to his legacy and extend his lead as the greatest ever. We've seen other great quarterbacks like Peyton Manning, Brett Favre and even Joe Montana depart the franchises that they are most recognized with and it's certainly possible that he could do the same. 

However, Brady does have the rare opportunity to become a Derek Jeter, Kobe Bryant-type figure in the NFL -- a player who dominated, won multiple championships and did so with one team throughout his entire career. That has a certain allure to it, especially when it's with an iconic franchise like the Lakers, Yankees or Patriots. 

Brady is not being booted out of town for a younger quarterback like Manning (Andrew Luck), Favre (Aaron Rodgers) or Montana (Steve Young) were. By all accounts, the Patriots want him back, giving him the opportunity to go wire-to-wire with one team. That'll likely never be seen again in the NFL when you consider the free agency era we live in, which only adds to his legacy even more and gives him that Bryant and Jeter-like status. 

There is the argument that Brady could boost his résumé even more if he lands in a new destination and wins. That's true, but the quarterback would also be opening himself up to a possible dent. Fairly or unfairly, if Brady were to land with another team and doesn't win another Super Bowl and plays uninspired football, there will absolutely be those who will question how much of his success in New England is thanks to Belichick. If talking heads are still using Matt Cassel's 11-5 season from 2008 against Brady, they would for sure enjoy that type of ammunition. It's admittedly silly because Brady is the most accomplished player in league history, but it's the type of risk he takes if he elects to sign with another club. 

Because the Patriots also present the best chance, in my mind, to win Brady a seventh Super Bowl, there's also the added opportunity of pulling a John Elway and walking away a champion, which shouldn't be overlooked when we're talking about adding to what is already a Hall of Fame resume. A Lombardi-sized cherry on top would be quite the storybook ending.