ORLANDO – Patriots owner Robert Kraft said the team will continue to talk about a contract extension for quarterback Tom Brady, expressing confidence that the sides will strike a long-term agreement.
Brady enters the final year of his deal in 2010.
“Let’s put it like this: Tom Brady is going to be part of this franchise. He wants to be, we want him,” Kraft told reporters this morning.
“Great things happen in life if you’re flexible and not rigid. We have to find a way to satisfy him and the team, and have a team that can win big-time. That’s what it’s about. We’re balancing a lot of different factors in an unknown environment. We’re not sleeping. It’s just complicated. It’s complicated for everyone. We hope we do a satisfactory job, but we’ll figure it out one way or another.”
Brady has not been present for the start of the team’s offseason program, but Kraft said he wouldn’t be surprised if Brady was there by Wednesday.
“If you’re asking me if I’d prefer he be here the whole offseason, yes. It represents … to me, he’s the most unique, special leader and player in the NFL,” Kraft said.
“But I wouldn’t be surprised if before these meetings are over [Wednesday], he wasn’t at the offseason workouts. They are voluntary. He has a family. Everything – look at your lives. You’ve all changed. So it’s priorities.
“There is no doubt in my mind, he’s working out hard. Would we be better as a team if he was in Foxboro every day between now and the start of training camp? Absolutely. Does it work for him? I don’t know. I think he’s balancing a lot of things. I hope he spends as much time as he can in Foxboro and I believe he will.”