Carolina Panthers’ chances rest on Tom Brady’s potential retirement

Any hopes of the Carolina Panthers winning the NFC South title rest squarely on the shoulders of quarterback Tom Brady’s retirement decision.

There was an absolute frenzy across the NFL on Saturday afternoon with the news Tom Brady was retiring from the league after a sensational career that brought no fewer than seven Super Bowl titles. ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington dropped the bombshell that sent social media into meltdown, only for reports to surface soon after that no decision had been made as yet.

Now, Schefter and Darlington would have triple and quadruple-checked an announcement of this magnitude before making it public. If three or four trusted sources are all saying the same thing, then they felt confident enough to go with it despite the uproar and confusion that followed.

Perhaps this is Brady taking back control to a certain extent before retiring on his own terms. However, the pending decision in the coming days is sure to have pretty big ramifications for the Carolina Panthers and their chances of making real progress in Year 3 of Matt Rhule‘s tenure.

Should Brady call it a day with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as many anticipate, then it’s another potential momentum shifter in the NFC South and comes just days after Sean Payton announced his departure from the New Orleans Saints.

It’s hard to look at this situation with anything other than encouragement where the Panthers are concerned. Although they have a lot of their own problems, there could be a slight opening for the team providing they nail almost every decision during the upcoming preparation period.

Brady was still playing at an extremely high level and has won all four of his games against the Panthers since joining the Buccaneers. He boasts a 6-3 all-time record versus Carolina, so there won’t be many tears shed from the team’s fanbase if he eventually calls it a day.

The Bucs would be reeling if Brady left. New Orleans has a new coach and some severe salary-cap issues to overcome, with the Atlanta Falcons also in flux with Matt Ryan once again starting under center.

Carolina Panthers must take full advantage if Tom Brady retires

This doesn’t guarantee success for the Panthers next time around. But if Brady hangs up his cleats, it improves their chances enormously.

Whether Rhule is capable of taking advantage of this is another matter. Carolina endured another torrid campaign that saw them lose 12 of their final 14 games and unless some significant adjustments are made to the way things are being handled before and during games, things are unlikely to get better anytime soon.

Opportunity definitely knocks for the Panthers. And it would be a major shock if Brady didn’t walk away even if these initial reports were quashed.

This was the big year where Rhule wanted to see Carolina surge into postseason contention. A notion that probably got him a reprieve from Tepper once the campaign came to a conclusion.

Rhule couldn’t have asked for anything better when it came to developments within divisional rivals. But getting his own house in order still remains the biggest challenge and another failed recruitment process could end up costing the former Baylor man his job.

The stakes are high for Rhule. And expectations could get even higher depending on what emerges from Brady’s camp in the not-too-distant future.