Patriots to honor Tom Brady at Gillette Stadium for 2023 home opener

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The New England Patriots have a special plan for their 2023 home opener, and it involves welcoming back their former longtime quarterback, Tom Brady, to Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft revealed on NFL Network's "Good Morning Football" that he has extended an invitation to Brady to honor the future Hall of Famer. 

The opponent for the Patriots' home opener will be announced at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday.

Brady's remarkable two-decade tenure in New England included six Super Bowl victories and 17 division titles, further making his case as one of, if not the greatest of all time.

Although he announced his retirement on Feb. 1, the home-opening celebration will mark the beginning of many post-career tributes for Brady in New England.

This will be Brady's second return to Foxborough since leaving the Patriots after the 2019 season. In 2021, he faced his former team as the QB of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and emerged victorious with a narrow 19-17 win. 

The Patriots have an international matchup scheduled for Week 10 in Frankfurt, Germany, where they will take on the Indianapolis Colts. Kraft is enthusiastic about his team's involvement in expanding the NFL's presence in Germany. 

"It's very exciting," Kraft said. "My principal business in paper and packaging, my second office I set up in Humboldt, Germany and I got to go there a lot. Believe it or not, I went to a game in Frankfurt in NFL Europe, and it gave me an exposure to see how great the German fans are and how enthusiastic they are. They're like great NFL fans in the dedicated regions of the country that care about football. 

"So, we were really excited to have this opportunity. It started when we drafted our first player in 2009 (German-born Sebastian Vollmer) and he was really special. We had Jakob Johnson and Markus Kuhn come after that. We started broadcasting games back to Germany in 2016, and it really has made a big difference."

With a perfect 3-0 record in international games, two in London and one in Mexico City — both led by Brady — the Patriots have demonstrated their dominance on a global stage.

Between the announcement of Brady being honored at Gillette Stadium and a much-anticipated Germany game, there is plenty for Patriots fans to be excited about in the upcoming 2023 season.