If there’s one thing that’s become clear since his retirement, it’s that the world simply is not ready for Tom Brady to be done with football. Well, maybe a few teams in the NFC South feel differently, but for the most part, Brady likely still has a lot of life left in his right arm.
There’s no questioning whether Brady can still be one of the very best quarterbacks in the NFL, he proved that last season by leading the league in passing yards and touchdown tosses.
But if there’s anyone who knows how quickly your abilities can be impacted from some time away from the game, it’s likely the G.O.A.T. himself. Perhaps that’s why Brady is still staying in typical TB12 shape, which is top-top form, to say the least.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Brady is still treating this offseason’s training like any other year, which again opens up the possibility of a comeback.
Here’s the full quote.
“I guess Brady walks around with a jug of water all the time, right? To make sure that he’s fully hydrated,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said on The Rich Eisen Show. “And I made the joke to someone who knows him very well and has known him forever, I go, ‘I guess we can retire the jug.’ And this person looked at me like I was crazy and was like, ‘Oh no, he’s still got the jug, he’s still in shape, he’s still eating well, he’s still doing the TB12 method or whatever, and he’s still keeping himself hydrated … in case. He’s still doing all the things that he would do in case he wanted to return.’
Ian Rapoport on Tom Brady (H/t to Madeline Coleman of SI.com)
Related: Tom Brady says he has great opportunities ahead of him, leaves door open for return
Tampa Bay Buccaneers may be keeping Tom Brady hostage
Perhaps the reason why we haven’t heard anything on the Tom Brady comeback front is because of his current situation with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. As coach Bruce Arians recently mentioned, he’s not interested in trading the seven-time Super Bowl champ. Even if he did want to, he said he’d want “five No. 1s“, or five first round picks in other words.
It could be that Brady does want to come back, just not for the Bucs. But due to still being under contract for another season with the Bucs, he may not have much of a choice.
- Tom Brady contract (2022): $9.1M cap hit
It’s kind of a sad situation. If Brady truly desires to play another season, the Buccaneers are robbing the football fandom of seeing one more season from the greatest quarterback to ever lace them up. I don’t blame Brady for no longer wanting to play for Arians. Maybe he’d stick around if Byron Leftwich were promoted to the captain’s chair, but not Arians.
We saw how he drove Antonio Brown out of town, that probably doesn’t sit well with Brady. Why would he want to play for him anymore? Why would anyone want to play for Arians?
Instead, Brady could have his pick of the litter wherever he wants to play, and compete for another ring. Like in San Francisco with the 49ers, the team he grew up adoring. If not them, there are plenty of other teams who may feel they are a Brady away from reaching the promised land.
But unless the Buccaneers are willing to work with one of the most respected football players of all time, we’re all going to have to find a way to deal with the fact that we might have already seen Brady throw his last pass in the NFL. I’m just not ready for that.