NFL insider: Tom Brady 'more open' to playing in 2023 season

Perhaps Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady didn't offer a public farewell to his playing career earlier this week after all.

As shared by the Joe Bucs Fan website, league insider Tom Pelissero of NFL Network remarked during an appearance on "The Rich Eisen Show" that Brady could confirm sooner rather than later that he plan to play during the 2023 season. 

"People close to Brady for the last two months have said all his options are on the table," Pelissero explained. "He is showing that he seems more open to coming back and playing another year than he did certainly a year ago at this time when he retired and unretired. Tom Brady knows if he comes back, he’s only coming back for one thing, which is to try to win another championship. And you can’t do that if you decide in June or July to come back and the rosters are already set and you have no flexibility to build the team the way you want it."

In June, Brady admitted that one reason he announced the end of a short-lived retirement on March 13, 2022, was that he didn't want to keep the Buccaneers guessing about his future through the start of free agency. Retired wide receiver Julian Edelman, Brady's longtime teammate with the New England Patriots, recently noted that the 45-year-old will only go "to the best situation that helps him win" if he intends on chasing the eighth championship ring in his historic career. 

While Edelman confidently declared his belief that Brady won't return to the Buccaneers, Joe Bucs Fan pointed out that Pelissero didn't pour cold water over the idea of the signal-caller staying in Tampa Bay and remaining close to his children for another campaign. Then again, shakeups on the Buccaneers coaching staff caused some to believe Tampa Bay is heading toward a reset that won't include TB12. 

Brady has been linked with the Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers, Las Vegas Raiders, San Francisco 49ers, Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans. He said in October that there was "no retirement in my future," but that was before he "seemed a little too sentimental" in postgame comments after Tampa Bay suffered a 31-14 blowout loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Monday's wild-card playoff showdown.