AP photo Patriots quarterbck Tom Brady leaves the field after Saturday night's Wild Card playoff loss to Tennessee at Gillette Stadium.

It doesn’t appear that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is ready to step in to ensure that Tom Brady remain with the team as he is set to become a free agent for the first time in his career in March.

Instead, he is willing to let Brady explore other opportunities – at least at first.

Kraft and Brady both talked with NBC’s Peter King after Saturday night’s Wild Card Playoff loss to Tennessee and it seems as if, after comments from those interviews were made public Monday, that anything is on the table.

Kraft, from what he told King, did not try to change Brady’s mind when the idea of the voidable last two years of his contract was introduced during the August negotiations, and also granted the request that the Patriots not be allowed to place the franchise tag on him.

“Before the season started, it was very important to Tom that he be free to do whatever he wanted at the end of the year,” Kraft told King. “You know what I said to myself? That any person who plays 20 years for this team and helps us get to six Super Bowls (actually nine, winning six) and been really selfless, has earned that right.”

Still, Kraft made it clear he does not want to see Brady play in another uniform. Whether he does something to prevent that is the question.

“My hope, and prayer is number one, he play for the Patriots,” Kraft told King. “Or number two, he retires. He has the freedom to decide what he wants to do and what’s in his own best personal interest.”

And Brady? He told the assembled media Saturday night that retirement was “unlikely”. And more or less said that to King.

“I’ll explore those opportunities whenever they are,” he said in the King interview. “If it’s the Patriots, great. If that doesn’t work, I don’t know. I just don’t know. I love playing football. I still want to play football. …

“I think a lot of other people who are great at what they do – great artists or great actors or great businessmen – they don’t have to stop what they love as they get older. I know there’s football still in here.”