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Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers saw their season end in heartbreaking fashion against the LA Rams in the divisional round of the 2022 NFL Playoffs. The Bucs trailed 27-3 in the third quarter before Brady led his team on a furious comeback to tie the score with under one minute remaining in regulation. The Rams had one more chance, and they went 63 yards in five plays to set up the game-winning field goal as time expired.
The Rams advanced to face the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game, while the Bucs start their offseason earlier than they would like.
This was always expected to be an offseason full of questions for the Bucs, especially with offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich and defensive coordinator Todd Bowles expected to be hot head coaching candidates. Brady is still under contract for next season, but an ominous report hours before kickoff against the Rams put the star quarterback’s future into question.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Brady was non-committal about playing beyond the current season. Schefter reported that those close to Brady thought if the Bucs repeated as Super Bowl champs, it could make him more likely to walk away. Now we know the Bucs fell short of that goal. Still, Schefter said Brady “plans to enter the offseason wide open about his future.”
Brady discussed his future on the Let’s Go podcast, and talked about what his family needs from him as a husband and father.
Tom Brady on his Let’s Go podcast about his wife and family and football. “It pains her to see me get hit out there. And she deserves what she needs from me as a husband and my kids deserve what they need from me as a dad.
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) January 25, 2022
Brady continued:
Tom Brady on Let’s Go pod “Playing football I get so much joy from. I love it. But not playing football, there’s a lot of joy in that for me also now, too, with my kids getting older and seeing them develop and grow. So all these things need to be considered and they will be.
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) January 25, 2022
Brady is still playing an incredibly high level, of course. He led the NFL in both passing yards and passing touchdowns. He’s one of the leading candidates to win MVP.
Those quotes from Brady about his family sure sound like a guy who is thinking about walking away, though. This really might be it.
NFL insider Ian Rapoport added fuel to the fire, saying: “Tom Brady is going to take a step back, take some time, talk to his family, and figure out does he still want to play football.”
Brady said it’s not about what he wants, it’s about what his family wants.
Bucs head coach Bruce Arians also doesn’t sound too sure if Brady will be back next season.
Brady has said many times that he wants to play until he’s 45 years old. That would mean one more season, which coincides with his contract. It sounds like he’s seriously considering walking away, though.
Will we see Tom Brady on an NFL field again? Your guess is as good as mine.
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