Former player: Buccaneers' Tom Brady 'should have retired' amid divorce

Former NFL player Nate Burleson is among those who believe Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady should've stayed retired this past winter. 

"Tom Brady should have retired," Burleson, now a football analyst and television personality, explained during Friday's edition of the "Good Morning Football" NFL Network program that followed Tampa Bay's 27-22 Thursday night loss to the Baltimore Ravens, per Hunter Hodies of The Spun. "Am I the only one thinking it? Here's the thing: We have been praising Tom Brady for 20 years and I've sat there and said he's the G.O.A.T. It's okay to have some criticism. Again, I love Tom Brady. I think him going to Tampa Bay and winning a Super Bowl would've been the greatest walk-off in all of sports, but then he came back for another season."

Brady never teased retiring after he and the Buccaneers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs to win Super Bowl LV in February 2021, but the seven-time champion temporarily rode off into the sunset this past February before he returned roughly six weeks later. 

Brady's on-the-field and off-the-field lives have taken several hits since that decision. The Buccaneers fell to 3-5 on the season via Thursday's result, and both Brady and wife Gisele Bündchen confirmed previous reports and announced on Friday that they've finalized their much-rumored divorce after 13 years of marriage. 

Stories about marital issues between Brady and Bündchen have hovered over the signal-caller since the summer when he curiously took an 11-day break away from the Buccaneers during the preseason in August for "personal reasons." Numerous members of the football community have recently said they thought Brady could retire in the middle of the ongoing season, and former New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms went so far as to call the 45-year-old a "distraction" for the Buccaneers.

Brady has insisted on multiple occasions he's committed to finishing at least the 2022 campaign despite Tampa Bay's struggles and whatever he's been dealing with behind the scenes. He and the Buccaneers will now have some extra time to prepare to host the Los Angeles Rams (3-3) on Nov. 6.