Seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady announced his retirement from the NFL over a month ago. It was the second consecutive offseason in which Brady called it quits early on.
There’s no way Tom Terrific is going to dupe us again, right? When the future first ballot Hall of Famer retired on Feb. 1, he made it clear that this was not like last offseason. He’s completely done after a brilliant 24-year run with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“I’ll get to the point right away. I’m retiring for good. I know the process was a pretty big deal last time, so when I woke up this morning I figured I’d just press record and let you guys know first. I won’t be long-winded. You only get one super emotional retirement essay, and I used mine up last year.”
Tom Brady in his second retirement announcement
About that? Longtime media personality Rich Eisen, who has a ton of contacts around the league, suggested on Monday that there was a ton of talk about Brady unretiring during the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
Eisen indicated that a couple birdies at the annual event suggested Brady could return in 2023. He also pointed to the Miami Dolphins as a realistic option.
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Tom Brady to unretire again?
Whether this actually means Brady is set to unretire remains to be seen. What we do know is that the quarterback’s history made his second retirement announcement seem to be less etched in stone than other iterations we’ve seen around the league.
The 45-year-old Brady struggled to an extent with the Buccaneers a season ago, posting his worst quarterback rating (90.7) since the 2013 campaign. Despite this, Brady did lead the NFL in completions and attempts for a second consecutive season.
- Tom Brady stats (2022): 66.8% completion, 4,694 yards, 25 TD, 9 INT, 90.7 QB rating
Brady’s 2022 season came with the backdrop of his marriage ending and some other off-field turmoil. Former Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians indicated that this did have an impact on the team as they went 8-9 before being blown out by the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Wild Card Playoffs.
As for Tom Brady and a potential destination, the Dolphins make sense in that he was linked to them before signing with Tampa Bay ahead of the 2020 season. Brady’s family also makes its home in Florida. This is certainly something to keep an eye on.