Technically, Tom Brady is retired. However, nobody with a pulse actually believes him (and that may even include Brady himself). Almost immediately after the seven-time Super Bowl champion announced he was closing the book on his future Hall of Fame career, rumors swirled that Brady may decide to mount a comeback in the near future. Even Brady acknowledged that possibility just days after his announcement telling Jim Gray on his “Let’s Go!” podcast that “you never say never.”
Since then, there’s been no letting up on potential comeback murmurs as Buccaneers GM Jason Licht noted on Tuesday that Tampa Bay would continue to “leave the light on” for Brady if he decided to return.
Now, Brady is adding more fuel to this speculation. The quarterback appeared with Fred Couples on SiriusXM radio and Couples asked him this question: “Maybe you can tell us where you’re going?”
To that, Brady gave a labyrinthine answer that does seem to leave the door open a smidge.
“I tell you, I wish I had a clear vision of what the future holds,” said Brady, via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “I think for me, there’s a lot of great things and a lot of great opportunities that I know I said right after football season. I was looking forward to spending time with my family. And I’ve done that the last five weeks. And I know there’ll be a lot more of that, too.
“So, you know, I like staying busy, that’s for sure. I played a little bit of golf and I’m actually gonna see my parents tonight, which will be a real highlight for me on their turf. I’ll be sleeping in the same bed I slept at when I was a kid. I don’t think my mom knows I’m coming home yet. So it’s just between my dad and I, it is a little bit of a surprise. So looking forward to that, looking forward to some golf in the next few days and some more family time, and then we’ll figure out where we go from there.”
That last sentence doesn’t exactly sound like a guy that has “slammed” the door shut about a possible comeback, as Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians described on Tuesday. However, that could mean that Brady is done playing for the Buccaneers and wishes to play elsewhere if he were to come out of retirement. Earlier this week, Pro Football Talk reported that the Miami Dolphins had planned to make a run at Brady as a quarterback and possibly as a partial owner down the line as well. The San Francisco 49ers — Brady’s boyhood team — has also been a popular landing spot by the peanut gallery as well.
If Brady does decide to come back to play for a new team, the Buccaneers would have to be a willing participant as they own his rights. In regards to possibly trading Brady to a new team, Arians said the Bucs would be unwilling to do it, saying it would be “bad business.”
