Tom Brady is retired. Unless he isn’t.
The best way to describe his status could be to say he is retired from the Buccaneers, and that the door is open on playing again. Brady, who said “never say never” about the prospect of a return only six days after calling it quits, continues to add to the mystery regarding his football future.
Via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, Brady appeared with Fred Couples on SiriusXM radio. Couples asked a simple question: “Maybe you can tell us where you’re going?”
Brady provided a not-so-simple answer.
“I wish I had a clear vision of what the future holds,” Brady said. “I think for me, there’s a lot of great things and a lot of great opportunities that I know I said right after football season I was looking forward to spending more time with my family. And I’ve done that the last five weeks. And I know there’ll be a lot more of that, too.
“So, you know, I like staying busy, that’s for sure. I played a little bit of golf and I’m actually gonna see my parents tonight, which will be a real highlight for me on their turf. I’ll be sleeping in the same bed I sleep at when I was a kid. . . . So looking forward to that, looking forward to some golf in the next few days and some more family time, and then we’ll figure out where we go from there.”
Earlier this week, we reported that the Dolphins had planned to make a run at Brady. I’ve believed for several weeks that he’ll be joining the 49ers, eventually.
Two years ago, San Francisco was his first choice. The 49ers foolishly said no thanks. This time around, they’d surely welcome the chance to bring Brady home, to play for his boyhood favorite team.
What else does he have to prove? He hasn’t won a Super Bowl with his 49ers. That would be a great reason to keep playing.
And a great reason to bid farewell to the Buccaneers. Which some (including me) specifically believe was the point of his retirement.