NFL schedule release 2021: Patriots rumored to host Tom Brady, Buccaneers in Week 4

After leaving the New England Patriots in free agency last year, Tom Brady will return to his old stomping grounds at one point during the 2021 NFL regular season. While nothing is confirmed just yet, it seems that the Patriots will host his new team, the reigning Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in early October.

According to a report by Bleacher Report’s Master Tesfatsion, the two teams will go at each other in Week 4: the Patriots will host Brady and the Buccaneers on Sunday Night Football on October 3.

The game will obviously be the must-watch contest of this year’s regular season — not just for Patriots fans but across the league. Brady, after all, served as New England’s starting quarterback for two decades. He and head coach Bill Belichick helped establish the lone dynasty of the NFL’s salary cap era, winning six Super Bowls alongside each other.

However, Brady left for Tampa Bay last spring. Now, he will face one of his successors: either 2020’s starter, Cam Newton, or first-round draft pick Mac Jones.

Regardless of who lines up at quarterback for the Patriots, though, the game will be one of the biggest regular season contests in league history.