"The Chicago Bulls post Michael Jordan”: Colin Cowherd suggests lack of Tom Brady hurting AFC East franchise

With Tom Brady leaving Foxborough after the 2019 season, the New England Patriots are gearing up for their fifth season without him. However, they are unable to shed his shadow. A similar phenomenon was felt by the Chicago Bulls after Michael Jordan left, according to NFL analyst Colin Cowherd.

The Patriots earlier this year parted ways with longtime head coach Bill Belichick and are officially in a new era. However, as per Cowherd, the Patriots’ old habits haven’t gone away and now they have a megascope on them with the lack of Brady.

On Wednesday, Cowherd took to his Fox show, ‘The Herd,’ and ripped the Patriots for missing out on Brandon Aiyuk. Cowherd said:

“They can't draft receivers, New England just can't. They're the opposite of the Steelers who can't miss on wide receivers, the Patriots can't draft one, and so Aiyuk is a good fit. Aiyuk basically said, ‘No, thank you.' He called it off.

“And to me, the Patriots are becoming the Chicago Bulls post Jordan. It's not just that the Bulls couldn't win. They went from totally cool to the most uncool franchise in the league. That's what the Patriots had become with Brady. Brady was so great. He made you forget how badly the Patriots drafted the offensive side of the ball.”

With a lack of quality wide receivers on the roster, first-year HC Jerod Mayo could be under pressure as well. Additionally, the QB room will have to lift itself with rookie Drake Maye.

Tom Brady moving into a different role

While the Patriots continue to struggle without the 15-time Pro Bowler, he is set to begin his $375 million broadcasting career with Fox Sports. Like his playing days, Tom Brady is putting his all into this role as well. In an interview with Cowherd, Brady opened up on his thought process:

"From my standpoint, I'm gonna work as hard as I can ... to make sure that I do deliver because I don't want to let anyone down. I don't want to let the people at FOX down.”

Tom Brady will take the booth on Sept 8 with a game between the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns.