Tom Brady is reportedly on the Washington Redskins’ free agent buy list. And, that wouldn’t be a bad thing.

The six-time Super Bowl winning quarterback is a free agent. It seems shocking Brady and the New England Patriots would part, but then Johnny Unitas left the Baltimore Colts, Peyton Manning departed the Indianapolis Colts and even Joe Montana didn’t finish with the San Francisco 49ers. Hey, it happens.

WEEI's Dale Arnold reported 11 teams are interested in Brady, including the New York Jets and Giants plus the Redskins. The strongest rumors have been the Los Angeles Chargers where a Hollywood career after football plus new options for his supermodel wife Gisele along are possible. The Las Vegas Raiders and Miami Dolphins are supposedly interested, too.

Washington seems a long shot. Brady surely wants to go to a contender and Washington is a few years from that. At 42, Brady doesn’t have that time. But then, none of the teams linked to him are truly a passer away from the Super Bowl and few top-tier teams are missing a passer. Throw in the market is flooded with big-name passers like Drew Brees and Phillip Rivers and Brady may have to reconsider his options.

If money is Brady’s No. 1 priority, nobody outbids Dan Snyder. The Redskins owner overpays without limits. He has even bid against himself over the years.

Snyder desperately needs to regain fans after three straight years of heavily losing them along with games. The team was outnumbered by visiting fans every game last season at FedEx Field. But think if Brady was playing for the burgundy and gold. Fans would flock to see a living legend. The stands would once more cheer for the Redskins. Brady might mean 30,000 more fans per game. He’d be worth the insane salary.

Could the Redskins really afford Brady under the salary cap? The Redskins would likely cut cornerback Josh Norman to save $12 million and linebacker Ryan Kerrigan for $11 million and there’s always offensive tackle Trent Williams’ holdout and tight end Jordan Reed’s medical status to resolve.

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The Redskins can afford Brady and, in many ways, can’t afford not to have a major drawing card. Maybe taking defensive force Chase Young draws some fans, but nothing outdraws quarterbacks. Snyder needs to sell those $50 parking passes.

What happens to Dwayne Haskins if Brady arrives? He clearly wasn’t ready as a rookie despite a little success against bad teams late last season. Let him sit on the bench another year or two and learn from the master. The downside would two years of Brady makes Haskins nearly a free agent by the time the team might use him. Any first-rounder that barely plays for the first three years is a bust, but then Snyder can always blame departed president Bruce Allen for it.

Ultimately, the Redskins getting Brady is mostly a fantasy pick. It’s improbable, but maybe Snyder’s unlimited budget and a hard sell by new coach Ron Rivera can convince Brady to play in Washington where he’d be the team’s best passer in a half century since Sonny Jurgensen played.

Rick Snider is an award-winning sports writer who has covered Washington sports since 1978. He first wrote about the Redskins in 1983 before becoming a beat writer in 1993. Snider currently writes for several national and international publications and is a Washington tour guide. Follow Rick on Twitter at @Snide_Remarks.