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The NFL schedule has New England Patriots legend Tom Brady will make his return to Gillette Stadium as a broadcaster for a pivotal game against the Packers.

For two decades, Tom Brady became a legend as the quarterback of the New England Patriots. Now, with the NFL schedule release, he’s set to return to Gillette Stadium for the first time as a broadcaster.

Mark your calendars for Week 9 when the Green Bay Packers come to town. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that “Tom Brady will return to New England for the first time as a broadcaster in Week 9 when the Packers take on the Patriots on FOX.”

Brady works as a broadcaster for FOX, which means he is going to be calling games with at least one NFC team. He also works the top broadcast, which puts him on what FOX expects to be the biggest game of the week within the NFC. That has kept him from calling much in the way of Patriots games. After all, in the two previous seasons that Brady was calling games, the Patriots were either struggling or coming off a season where they struggled. Not to mention the problem of them being an AFC team.

This matchup should be different, though. The Packers expect to compete for the NFC North in a competitive division. The Patriots figure to do the same, coming off a Super Bowl appearance. So, with FOX snagging the rights to the game, it’s not a surprise they decided to send Brady back to New England.

This Won’t be the First Time Tom Brady Returned to the New England Patriots

Following the 2019 season, Tom Brady left the New England Patriots for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That doesn’t mean he’s never been back to New England before this upcoming Week 9 game, though.

The first time Brady returned was actually as a player. Tampa Bay rolled into New England in 2021 for what would prove to be a defensive struggle. Still, Brady managed to complete 22 passes for 269 yards and earn a 19-17 win over Bill Belichick. That would be the last game he actually played in New England.

Since then, Brady has returned a few different times to New England, generally to be honored. In 2023, he got to introduce a new tradition, becoming the first “Keeper of the Light.” Then, there was his induction into the Patriots Hall of Fame. That was back in 2024. Finally, last August, Brady was on hand to see his statue unveiled outside the stadium.

Now, in 2026, Brady is set to return as a broadcaster. With six Super Bowl banners hanging thanks to him, there’s no doubt he’ll be welcomed with open arms once again.

James Harrison Claims He Had a Role in the Patriots Moving on from Tom Brady

By the end of the Tom Brady and Bill Belichick era, there was some tension between the two, and it seemed like it was heading for a divorce. Patriots owner Robert Kraft just had to decide which side he was on. That’s where James Harrison comes in.

During Harrison’s very brief tenure with the Patriots, he says he spoke to Kraft about what made the Patriots so dominant. At the time, he gave Belichick credit over Brady, and he now thinks that may have had a role in the decision to move on from Brady a couple of years later.

“When I was in New England, Kraft pulled me to the side, and he was like, ‘James, I want to talk to you.’ I’m like, ‘Cool, what’s up?’ He said, ‘Why is it that we were able to beat you guys even though, for the most part, you guys were more talented altogether than we were?’ And he said, ‘Do you think it’s Tom or do you think it’s Bill?’ He basically was telling me, at that point, that was 2017, he was thinking about moving on from one or the other,” Harrison said.

“He’s trying to make a decision. And I’m like, ‘I think Bill does a great job of coaching. He puts his players in positions to be able to get out of them what it is they do best…’ I was like, ‘He’s good. He’s damn good.’”

The Brady and Belichick partnership did last a couple years after Harrison retired and was no longer with the Patriots. So, it’s possible that what Harrison said to Kraft didn’t mean anything at all. At the same time, it’s easy to see where the gears were turning for the Patriots at that point in the dynasty.