Buccaneers HC Todd Bowles shoots down Tom Brady talk

It sounds like quarterback Tom Brady won't make a second comeback with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before or after his 46th birthday that he'll celebrate on the first Thursday of August. 

"We’ve turned the page a while ago," Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said Thursday about Brady, as shared by the JoeBucsFan website. "We don’t go back on the past. We can’t worry about wins, losses and who’s here and who’s not. We’re a different team. We know we’re a different team. We move forward that way." 

The Buccaneers seemingly are all-in on having free-agency signing Baker Mayfield compete with 2021 second-round draft pick Kyle Trask to win the right to replace Brady atop the depth chart ahead of the regular-season opener at the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 10. However, Tampa Bay safety Antoine Winfield Jr. generated numerous headlines and speculation when he said earlier this month he was "sure (the Buccaneers are) still reaching out to (Brady) trying to see if he’s trying to come back to the team." 

Brady physically looked diminished throughout the 2022 season for reasons presumably related to his divorce from Gisele Bündchen after 13 years of marriage that they announced in late October. At least one NFL analyst believes the seven-time Super Bowl champion was also "checked out" during his final campaign with the Buccaneers. 

Brady's experienced a change of heart regarding his retirement before, though, and Winfield's comments coupled with the fact that new Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dave Canales has admitted TB12 is his "favorite player of all time" could cause some to wonder if the future Hall of Famer has one more season with Tampa Bay in the tank. 

Bowles emphatically put such talk to bed. 

"We don’t worry about ghosts from the past or anything else," Bowles continued. "We worry about what we have now and what we have to do to win." 

Brady reportedly is preparing for his next career as Fox's lead NFL analyst that he'll begin in 2024, and he should become a limited partner of the Las Vegas Raiders this fall. None of that prevents him from signing with a team as a free agent as soon as possible, but Bowles indicated Brady is only welcome at the Buccaneers' facility as a visitor these days.