Brady admits he nearly unretired, reveals what changed his mind

Tom Brady. Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports

Tom Brady admits he nearly unretired again, reveals what changed his mind

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated 12/31/23

Any time a starting quarterback went down with an injury this year, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New England Patriots QB Tom Brady was the first one mentioned as a possible replacement.

And while Brady has made it through 17 of the league’s 18 week-schedule without suiting up, there was a point during the offseason that he admitted he was ready to come out of retirement for a second time.

In a post on his Instagram page on Sunday, Brady admitted that his group of friends ultimately changed his mind about staying retired.

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Whether he’s serious or not is unknown, but had Brady decided to unretire in 2023, he would have had plenty of options to pick from with injuries to several high-profile QBs including Aaron Rodgers, Jimmy Garoppolo, Kirk Cousins, Joe Burrow and Deshaun Watson.

Brady has joked several times during the year that his family would not be happy with him if he did return for a 24th season.

“My parents would call, my kids would call; they'd kill me,” Brady said during an episode of his “Let’s Go!” podcast in early October. “I wouldn't be around by tonight. As I said, you're only allowed one un-retirement. And I've used it up.”

Brady retired in February for the second time. His first retirement lasted just 40 days before returning to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the 2022 season.

He led the Bucs to an 8-9 record barely making the playoffs in a weak NFC South. It was also the first season in Brady’s career in which he had a losing record.

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