As Tom Brady prepares for the next stage of his post-football career, NFL teams are still hoping the future Hall of Famer comes back to play for them. However, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers reportedly believe a comeback would only happen in Tampa Bay.
Brady retired just before the NFL offseason calendar started, adding the Buccaneers to a long list of teams in the mix for a quarterback. While Tampa Bay is holding out hope the seven-time Super Bowl champion returns, they aren’t expecting it.
The sentiment isn’t shared around the league. Many NFL insiders anticipate Brady unretiring in July, announcing a comeback for his age-45 season. It’s generated plenty of speculation about his next landing spot, but it seems the Buccaneers are especially confident that is premature.
During an appearance on the Rich Eisen Show, Buccaneers’ insider Rick Stroud shared that Tampa Bay believes Brady unretiring is unlikely. If he did come back, though, the organization thinks it would be to play for the Buccaneers.
“If he wants to play, they believe he would play here because at 45, does he really want to go to another team, learn a new offense, new players, all of that?”
Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud on Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ expectations for Tom Brady, via Rich Eisen Show
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Many around the NFL obviously feel differently. Multiple reports emerged that the relationship between Brady and the Buccaneers’ organization was far from perfect. Between reports of friction with Bruce Arians and some issues with how the team was operated, it’s understandable why think a split is possible.
However, Tampa Bay knew Brady was retiring before anyone else did. Considering the all-time great quarterback is already focusing on new opportunities after football, rather than dedicating his time to preparing for the upcoming season, the Buccaneers might be right.
