Is This the End For Tom Brady?

 

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Here comes the now annual question, once again. You had to know it was coming, surely?  

So here it is: Will Tom Brady retire, or will he come back for yet another season?  

Of course, I am not sure. No one seems to be, including his former teammates. In fact, maybe Brady himself is not sure.  A lot of people probably want him to retire. He is 45 years old right now, and easily the most decorated quarterback in NFL history. This is a guy who has been playing for 23 years. He has shattered all sorts of records, and holds almost every meaningful record for quarterbacks, with the most overall passing yards, the most completions, the most touchdowns, the most wins, the most playoff appearances, the most playoff wins, the most Super Bowl appearances, the most Super Bowl wins, and the most Super Bowl MVP’s. He also was voted the NFL MVP twice. He’s won Super Bowls with two different teams.  

Really, he has nothing left to prove.

Except, he seems to think otherwise.

Brady is now 45 years old. I know that he has plenty of haters, although I have never been among them. In fact, a part of me is actually pleased that a man who is more or less roughly my age (a little less than three years younger, technically) can still play at such an incredible level. 

Still, he is not young anymore. And so it seems that after every single season, there are these questions about whether or not he will suit up and play yet again next season, by which time he will be 46. 

If he does, there are questions about where he will play. Remaining in Tampa Bay seems unlikely. There have been rumors that he might rejoin Belichick and become a New England Patriot again, but that seems so weird as to be extremely unlikely. 

There are persistent rumors that he would join the 49ers. But they have a new quarterback, nd the further he goes in this postseason, the less likely it seems that the Niners would then put him back on the sidelines for what would likely be a one year experiment with Brady. Not impossible, but unlikely. What kind of a message would that send, after all?

So where, then? 

Some of the apparent favorites to pursue and obtain Brady, should he decide to come back next season, include the Raiders, the Jets, the Saints, the Titans, the Commanders, and the Dolphins. Those I could see, and possibly the 49ers, if circumstances work out like that. I saw one article headline asking if Brady would join the Texans. That, I am almost certain, would be a big no. He will not go to one of the worst teams and play in a rebuilding situation. Again, he is 46, and if he plays, will be closer to 50 than 40. Brady seems more than anything to want to play on a contender, for perhaps one more shot at a Super Bowl. 

If he doesn't play, he is assured, evidently, of being in the broadcast booth. One way or another, he will be making some money, and will be in the public eye. 

Should be interesting to see how it goes. Any team that does go for him has to understand that they cannot count on this lasting for more than a single season. After all, again, Brady is the oldest player in the league, and remember, this is about the third or fourth straight season where there were questions about him possibly retiring. He even announced his retirement after last season, then decided against retirement and came back. 

If I had to put money on it, let me say this: I suspect that we will be having these same kinds of conversations at the end of next season, on whether or not Brady will retire, or come back for yet one more year. So yeah, I think he will suit up again. The question, then, is which uniform he will don.

 

The most likely Tom Brady scenarios with NFL future in doubt by Ryan Glasspiegel  January 17, 2023:  

https://nypost.com/2023/01/17/teams-tom-brady-could-likely-play-for-with-nfl-future-unclear/

Tom Brady 2023 landing spots: What's next for Buccaneers QB, who's unsure of NFL future after playoff exit by Cody Benjamin,  Jan 18, 2023:

Assessing the potential next steps for the seven-time champ           

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/tom-brady-2023-landing-spots-whats-next-for-buccaneers-qb-whos-unsure-of-nfl-future-after-playoff-exit/