What's Next for the Patriots?

It has been a little over two-weeks since the New England Patriots lost in Super Bowl LII to the Philadelphia Eagles and there is some uncertainty lingering in the air. Many people including Patriots fans are curious to see what plays out with the Patriots' roster and coaching staff within the next three months. But, ever since the loss, multiple rumors have been spread around concerning New England's future. Will Brady return next year? Is Belichick calling it quits soon? The futures of Malcolm Butler and Gronk? All of those questions and more will be answered, but Pats fans should not be worried.

The obvious answer to Brady returning next year is yes, of course he is returning next year. At 40 years old, Tom Brady won the regular season MVP this past year along with becoming the oldest QB to ever start in a SuperBowl. He has already won five rings but to him there is still work needed to be done. Coaching staff was questionable at one point especially the downfall between the Indianapolis Colts and Patriots' OC Josh McDaniels. Reports had came out about McDaniels accepting the head coaching job for the Colts, but then suddenly he changed his mind when Patriots' CEO Robert Kraft matched the dollar amount to keep McDaniels in New England remaining the offensive coordinator. Belichick was acting as if both his offensive and defensive coordinators were departing from the team and only half of that assumption was correct. Matt Patricia did take the head coaching job in Detroit which was not a surprise to anybody, but McDaniels could inherit the head coaching job in the future when Belichick decides to retire. So for now Belichick, Brady, and McDaniels are still a unit in New England.

On a another subject, I am not certain about Malcolm Butler's future with the team especially after being DISOWNED this past SuperBowl. He has played for about 97.8% off the regular season snaps and did not miss one snap during the playoff games against Tennessee and Jacksonville according to Stephen A. Smith yet he did not play one single defensive snap during the SuperBowl. He was only used on special teams and cameras caught him crying on the sideline in disappointment. Speculations leading up to that game included he missed team meetings, late for practices, oversleeping, etc. Butler ended those rumors on Instagram clarifying that was all false and still was not sure why he was benched for the SuperBowl. Nobody is sure why this happened, but Belichick stated that he did what was best for the team, for whatever that means. Anyway, I do not blame Malcolm Butler if he does not return to the Pats next season because of coaching issues. Worst thing happens, he leaves and we train younger cornerbacks/safeties on the team to replace his position.

A big issue is the future of Rob Gronkowski playing football. Gronk has had an everlasting list of injuries throughout his career including a recent concussion he endured during the AFC Championship game. He had said he needed a few weeks to think about his future in the NFL, but no new headlines have come up yet about it. Some reports have said that WWE has contacted him about a future job, or maybe a gig in Hollywood (which he would exceptionally do well). These are all speculations but the media will wait for an answer from Gronkowski within the next month. Some questions solved, some will remain unanswered. But for now, the Patriots will be fine again next year winning another AFC East title, AFC Championship, and another Super Bowl appearance.