The New England Patriots is about to enter Week 4 without Tom Brady again because of his suspension. But, since there is also a chance that he will not be an effective quarterback once he returns, there’s a chance that the team might trade him away.

During the offseason, Brady was slapped with a four-game suspension due to his involvement in last year’s Deflategate scandal. His absence then forced the Patriots to turn to their backup QB’s Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett. However, during the Patriots’ game against the Miami Dolphins at Week 2, Garoppolo suffered an injury which caused him to miss last week’s game against the Houston Texans. In his place, Brissett played against former Denver Broncos QB Brock Osweiler and his Houston squad.

Through an impressive feat, the Patriots were able to claim their third consecutive victory after preventing the Texans to score a single point at Week 3. As New England enters Week 4, the Patriots are confident that Garoppolo will be present to lead the team against the Buffalo Bills.He was even spotted practicing with Brissett earlier this week.

If these two quarterbacks are able to claim another victory for New England, then the team will probably have no need for Brady once he returns to play at Week 5. The team could then either waive him or trade him for another quality player.

Currently, it seems Brady is not taking his return to the NFL seriously since he was recently spotted vacationing in Italy with his wife Gisele during Week 3 of his suspension. Since he’s only a couple of days from his professional return he should probably spend his time preparing for his comeback.

Aside from this seemingly lack of focus and dedication, another factor that would work against Brady’s stay with the Patriots is his age. Brady is already 39 years old, which is very close to retirement age. For a bit of perspective, Peyton Manning retired from the Broncos at age 40. This indicates that Brady may only have one more year left in him before he retires.

Although this could also give him the drive to strive for a Super Bowl championship this season, his age and physical condition still creates a huge risk for the Patriots. This is why their best option would probably be to trade him away and just stick with Garoppolo and Brissett as their quarterbacks.