Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady is going to be in the news for the next several weeks as the seven-time Super Bowl champion prepares for free agency.
Brady, 45, is coming off one of the worst seasons of his future first ballot Hall of Famer career. He led Tampa to a mere 8-9 record, winning one of the worst divisions in modern NFL history. The season came to a culmination in the NFC Wild Card Playoffs with Brady and his Bucs losing to the Dallas Cowboys by the score of 31-14.
Apparently, Brady is already annoyed being asked about his future. Appearing on his Let’s Go! podcast with co-host Jim Gray on Monday, Tom Terrific snapped when he was asked a simple question about potentially playing in 2023.
“If I knew what I was going to f**king do, I would’ve already fu**ing done it. I’m taking it a day at a time. I appreciate you asking. Thank you.”
Tom Brady on his 2023 plans, via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times
Brady had to know the question was coming and opted to drop a couple f-bombs. It’s a clear indication that he remains frustrated about this season’s performance and is going to take some time before making a decision about returning for a 24th season in the NFL.
It must be noted that Brady retired briefly last offseason, only to make the decision to return. In reality, he’s brought this line of questioning on himself.
NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero reported earlier on Monday that Brady is more open-minded about playing in 2023 in comparison to his thought process following the 2021 season. Whether that is actually the case remains to be seen.
What we do know is that Buccaneers players don’t expect him to return to the team next season. He’s also being linked to the Las Vegas Raiders on a near never-ending loop after then-head coach Jon Gruden nixed a signing ahead of the 2020 season.
- Tom Brady stats (2022): 67% completion, 4,694 yards, 25 TD, 9 INT, 90.7 QB rating
Despite leading the NFL in completions (490) and pass attempts (733) for a second consecutive season in 2022, Brady was not his typically dominant self. In fact, his 6.4 average yards per attempt was the quarterback’s lowest figure since all the way back in 2002.
In Tampa’s blowout loss to the aforementioned Cowboys, Brady missed on a whopping 31 of his 66 pass attempts as the Bucs’ offense struggled to get going.
For some, the idea of Brady returning with a deteriorating skill-set just doesn’t make sense. Then again, he’s proven skeptics wrong at nearly ever turn during one of the best careers in professional sports history.
Just don’t ask him about his future. That became clear on Monday.
More must-reads: