Perhaps no regular-season game in NFL history has had as much hype surrounding it as the Week 4 clash between the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

While the Buccaneers will visit Gillette Stadium as the defending Super Bowl champions, it is the return of Tom Brady to where it all began that steals the thunder.

The Bucs QB spent 20 seasons with the franchise after being drafted with the 199th overall pick back in 2000. Since then, Brady helped the franchise win 6 Super Bowl titles. 

Moving on in 2020 as a free agent, Brady signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and incredibly won yet another Super Bowl with his new team. But last season, Brady did not meet his former employers en route to the Super Bowl.

All that will change come October 3, 2021. 

Tom Brady always welcome at Foxboro

With arguably the greatest of all time set to face his former franchise, all eyes will be glued to the television sets once Week 4 of the upcoming season rolls around. 

And while fans have shared their excitement about the same on social media, Patriots’ Robert Kraft weighed in with his thoughts about Brady’s homecoming. 

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“Excited to have him,” Kraft said, talking to TMZ Sports. “He’s a great guy, and he did so much for us. I love him.”

Kraft and Tom Brady have long been known to share a cordial relationship. After all, Brady is the QB who turned his franchise’s fortunes around.

Kraft is reasonably excited about Brady’s return. But currently, his sight is set on taking on the Miami Dolphins in the opening fixture of the upcoming season.  

“We should have a fun night. But I’m excited for Week One when we play Miami,” said the Patriots owner.

The Patriots have been looking for a replacement for Brady ever since his departure. And they believe that they may have found their answer through the draft of Alabama QB Mac Jones.

READ MORE: Tom Brady Talks About How Difficult it Was to Adjust to the Buccaneers’ Playbook

Jones is seen as the long-term answer. But QB Cam Newton is likely to start for the Patriots till Jones gets comfortable with his surroundings.  

When quizzed further as to whom he’d like to see as his team’s starter, Kraft jokingly said that Head Coach Bill Belichick gets paid to decide exactly that.

“I pay Bill a lot of money. Let him decide,” said Kraft with a tongue-in-cheek response. 

With fans excited for what is to be a generational clash, which side do you think will emerge victorious?