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Tom Brady Rumors: 'Not A Cold War' With Bill Belichick; Patriots 'Overhauling' Offense

BOSTON (CBS) – NFL Combine week was a wild stretch when it came to rumors about where Tom Brady will end up in free agency.

On Thursday, reports were flying that Brady was all but gone. By the end of the day, there was a new report that Brady is in the Patriots' plans for 2020.

Then on Saturday, Brady sat courtside at the Syracuse basketball game, where Edelman declared "He's coming back" only to be greeted with an uncomfortable response from the quarterback. Social media went wild, speculating Brady said "He's not" or possibly something less definitive like "This guy."

Late Sunday night, Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports Boston tried to make sense of all the rumblings. In his column, Curran said "this is not a Cold War" between Brady and Bill Belichick. Curran reaffirmed previous reports that the Patriots do indeed want their star quarterback to return.

"There are financial hoops to jump through. There are personnel obstacles to clear. Understandings on both sides need to be reached. But the Patriots want to try and make that happen," Curran wrote. "There's been no meeting, but it hasn't been total radio silence – texts have been sent. Bill Belichick is not freezing Brady out."

According to Curran, the Patriots are "already active in overhauling their offense," and "don't be surprised" if the team is busy trying to swing trades before Brady officially becomes a free agent.

Brady is set to hit the open market on March 18 if he doesn't reach a new contract by then. Until that date arrives, the rumors will surely continue to fly.

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