Does Tom Brady think he could pull a Philip Rivers, make return to NFL?

44-year-old quarterback Philip Rivers hasn't played in a meaningful NFL game since January 2021, but he nevertheless shockingly ended his retirement to join the Indianapolis Colts' practice squad this week. 

Meanwhile, Tom Brady seemingly is enjoying serving as both a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders and as Fox's lead in-game NFL analyst. Nevertheless, some can't help but wonder if the 48-year-old believes he could also feature for a potential playoff team this month. 

Tom Brady thinks he could, but would he?

"Yes, I certainly could," Brady said when asked during a recent appearance on "The Herd with Colin Cowherd" program if he feels he could succeed as an NFL QB1, per Fox Sports. "I think the answer for me would be yes. I’m not allowed to anymore because I’m a minority owner of the Raiders, so I can’t unretire."

Brady first retired from playing in February 2022, but he announced the following month that he was returning to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for another season. He visibly wasn't his all-time great self during what became the final campaign of his pro career for reasons related to his health and his divorce from Gisele Bundchen. 

Shortly after Brady retired a second time in February 2023, a report confirmed the seven-time Super Bowl champion was "done-done" playing. 

"Who retires and then unretires and then is ultimately going to retire again? Who does that? That’s ridiculous for Philip to do that," Brady joked on "The Herd." 

Tom Brady is "very excited" to see what Philip Rivers can do

Rivers is expected to start when 8-5 Indianapolis plays at the 10-3 Seattle Seahawks this coming Sunday. Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is among the noteworthy members of the NFL community who think Rivers "can jump right back in the saddle" as an NFL starter. 

"I'm very excited to watch Philip play," Brady added. "If he’s out there, it’s just very cool. It speaks to how much he loves the game and really what he’s able to do still. ...This game is about, for the quarterback, from the neck up. We used to have a saying at Michigan, 'The mental is to the physical as four is to one at the quarterback position.' That doesn’t really go away. Do you still have the physical ability to still do it — take the hits, make the throws, the drops, buy a little time in the pocket? If Philip has been practicing those things, then we’re all going to see it on full display in Seattle on Sunday afternoon."

As of Friday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Seahawks as 13.5-point favorites over the Colts.