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After 20 years, Tom Brady is leaving New England. Brady posted on Instagram today that he is planning to leave the Patriots and sign with another team in free agency.

"I don't know what my football future holds but it is time for me to open a new stage for my life and career," Brady wrote.

Brady thanked the Patriots' fans for their support through the years.

"I wanted to say thank you to all of the incredible fans and Patriots supporters," Brady wrote. "MA has been my home for twenty years. It has truly been the happiest two decades I could have envisioned in my life and I have nothing but love and gratitude for my time in New England."

Brady said nothing that indicated he has any hard feelings toward the Patriots.

"To all my teammates, coaches, executives and staff, Coach Belichick, RKK and the Kraft family and the entire organization. I want to say thank you for the past twenty years," Brady wrote.

The relationship between Brady and head coach Bill Belichick has been scrutinized over the last few years and Brady's decision to leave the team this offseason will likely lead to another round, but there was nothing but love from Belichick in a statement released on Tuesday morning.

Belichick called Brady one of the "original creators" of the Patriots program that produced six Super Bowl-winning teams and said that the two men "will always have a great relationship built on love, admiration, respect and appreciation."

"Nothing about the end of Tom's Patriots career changes how unfathomably spectacular it was," Belichick said. "With his relentless competitiveness and longevity, he earned everyone's adoration and will be celebrated forever. It has been a privilege to coach Tom Brady for 20 years. Examples of Tom's greatness are limitless, going back even before he was drafted. We witnessed how he prepared when he wasn't playing, how he performed when he got his opportunity, what he did to continuously improve, his leadership, his mindset, the example he set, and, of course, the person he is. I am extremely grateful for what he did for our team and for me personally.

"Sometimes in life, it takes some time to pass before truly appreciating something or someone but that has not been the case with Tom. He is a special person and the greatest quarterback of all-time."

Now Belichick will have to find someone who can succeed the greatest quarterback of all-time and keep the Patriots on the winning track they've been on for the last two decades.

Meanwhile, as Profootballtalk.com noted, what we don't know now is what Brady's next stop will be.

It sounds like Brady does, however.

Colin Cowherd recently posted this tweet: "Breaking. Just got text. Tom Brady has made his decision."

This would imply that he has picked between the two teams who already were at the table with reportedly strong offers: NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday there have been strong offers made by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Chargers, with the Buccaneers' offer believed to be $30 million or more.

But Tom Curran of NBCSportsBoston.com reports that no other announcements about Brady's future are expected to be made on Tuesday.

Whatever the case, Brady is able to talk to potential suitors through Tuesday and could entertain overtures from other teams, but no contract can become official until the new league year is underway on Wednesday.

So we'll be waiting.

In the meantime, it's the end of an era in New England.

So what's next for Belichick and the Pats?

As NFL.com's Kevin Patra noted, it'd be ridiculous to think the team was surprised by Brady's announcement that he's leaving.

As of now, Jarrett Stidham sits as the top in-house candidate for the Patriots after being drafted in the fourth-round last season.

Beyond that, the option most-linked to the Patriots isn't a QB hitting the open market, but rather available in a trade: Andy Dalton.

The Cincinnati Bengals have made it known they are willing to work with Dalton to find him a prime landing spot as they plan to move ahead with a rookie quarterback taken No. 1 overall. The Patriots would make a cushy destination.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero noted that he received a text from an NFL coach: "Dalton has to be the Patriots' guy?"

Dalton makes a lot of sense as a bridge veteran who can manage an offense. He owns a lot of the characteristics Belichick seeks in a signal-caller. However, as Patra understated, "we've seen Dalton struggle in Cincinnati when he wasn't buffered by superior talent."

That's the same issue that stymied the Patriots' offense with Brady last season.

Another trade possibility the Patriots is 2015 NFL MVP Cam Newton. The Panthers announced Tuesday that they have given Newton and his team permission to seek a trade (and it appears the Panthers have a deal in place with Teddy Bridgewater to replace Newton).

Jameis Winston is another name likely to pop up surrounding New England's search, especially if Brady lands in Tampa. Winston has a big arm and unquestionable talent. He's also turnover-prone.

Patra also mentions the possibility of trading for Nick Foles.

The Patriots could also look to the draft if one of the top-tier players begins to fall in the first round. And, of course, there always seems to be an out-of-left-field trade option no one but Belichick has conjured yet.

Again, this is a situation that will unfold in coming days and we'll be following closely.