'You never say never': Tom Brady addresses possibility of coming out of retirement
Not even a week after he formally announced his retirement from the NFL, Tom Brady already is dropping hints of a possible comeback.
On Monday during the "Let's Go!" SiriusXM podcast, Jim Gray asked Brady if there was a possibility of coming out of retirement.
Brady left the door open for a possible NFL return.
"I'm just gonna take things as they come," Brady said. "I think that's the best way to put it and I don't think anything, you know, you never say never. At the same time I know that I'm very, I feel very good about my decision. I don't know how I'll feel six months from now.
"I try to make the best possible decision I can in the moment, which I did this last week. And, again, I think it's not looking to reverse course, I'm definitely not looking to do that. But in the same time I think you have to be realistic that you never know what challenges there are gonna be in life. Again, I loved playing. I'm looking forward to doing things other than playing. That's as honest as I can be."
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Last Monday on the "Let's Go!" podcast, Brady sidestepped questions about retirement. The following morning, Brady officially announced his retirement.
The 44-year-old Brady led the NFL in passing yards (5,316) and passing touchdowns (43) during the 2021 season, with his final game being an NFC divisional playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Brady is the NFL's all-time leader in many statistical categories, most notably career passing milestones such as touchdowns, yards and completions. He played 22 seasons in the NFL, 20 for the New England Patriots and two for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brady won three league MVP awards and his seven Super Bowl wins are more than any NFL franchise has accumulated.
If Brady does in fact "reverse course," this situation would be reminiscent to when Brett Favre retired for the first time following the 2007 season, only to unretire months later. However, the Buccaneers don't have a hand-picked successor waiting in the wings like the Green Bay Packers of 2008 had in Aaron Rodgers.