Buccaneers' Leonard Fournette told Tom Brady: 'We can't go out like that'

Shortly after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fell to the Los Angeles Rams in the playoffs in January, word broke that Tampa Bay quarterback and seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady was preparing to retire. Brady announced his retirement on Feb. 1 but experienced a change of heart and ultimately returned to the Buccaneers roughly six weeks later. 

Last month, Tampa Bay star pass-rusher Shaquil Barrett admitted he "just wasn’t ready for life without Tom yet," and linebacker Devin White later remarked that "it's Super Bowl or nothing" with Brady back atop the depth chart. Brady and running back Leonard Fournette were among those in attendance for the start of the Buccaneers' mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, and Fournette explained why he was always convinced the 44-year-old wouldn't let the loss to the Rams be his final game.

"I kind of knew because I told him I want to say two days after the game, I’m like, 'T, we can’t go out like that.' And he agreed with me," Fournette told reporters, according to Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. "Like, we left too many mistakes on the field that kind of messed us up and we were playing catch-up the whole game. So I think as a champion, I knew he wouldn’t want to go out like that for his legacy." 

Brady was a legitimate Most Valuable Player candidate for the 2021 regular season. He led the NFL with 485 completions, 719 pass attempts, 5,316 yards through the air and 43 passing touchdowns. Fournette assured everyone the GOAT still isn't showing his age this spring. 

"He hasn’t lost a step. He is who he is," Fournette added about Brady. "And me just being alongside him these three years, I wouldn’t want any other guy back there with us. He deserves everything he’s got and that’s coming to him. And I’m just proud of him."

Assuming Brady's reconstructed knee is feeling better today than it was last spring, he may somehow find he's gained a step by the time September rolls around.