Buccaneers QB Tom Brady won't say if he'll play past 2022 NFL season

ESPN's Seth Wickersham explained for a piece published Thursday morning that he "can't see" Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady playing beyond the 2022 NFL season amid rumors claiming that Gisele Bündchen, Brady's wife, is upset he didn't commit to his short-lived retirement from playing and instead returned to the Buccaneers for the upcoming campaign. 

Brady wouldn't say in June if he plans to retire next winter, become an unrestricted free agent or possibly stay on the Buccaneers' roster through the subsequent season. As Mike Florio noted for Pro Football Talk, the 45-year-old again danced around the topic when he was asked Thursday if this will be his last year as an active player. 

"I think we’re all getting one day older at a time," Brady responded. "We’re all not sure whether we’re going to be here next year or not, that’s the reality for every player, every coach, every parent. You just never know. We should all take advantage of the opportunity that we have, which is the one we have in front of us now." 

Brady led the entire league for the 2021 regular season with 485 completions, 5,316 passing yards and 43 touchdowns through the air, and he could again be a Most Valuable Player candidate for 2022 if his arm is as strong as it was this past January. Florio wondered, though, if the seven-time Super Bowl champion "may tap out again" at some point this fall after he took an 11-day break away from the Buccaneers last month for supposed "personal reasons." 

"It’s been like that for a long time for me," Brady said Thursday about the recent reporting on his personal life and marriage. "I know how to try to do my best and try to be a professional, show up every day and do my job the best way I can."