Last night, a surprisingly belligerent quote emerged from quarterback Tom Brady‘s podcast, during which he was asked about his football future for 2023 and replied with a pair of F bombs.
“If I knew what I was going to fucking do, I would’ve already fucking done it,” Brady said. “I’m taking it a day at a time. . . . I appreciate you asking. Thank you.”
The situation becomes even more bizarre when considering the precise question posted by co-host Jim Gray.
Gray, as demonstrated by the audio of the show, didn’t give Brady the Pete Rose treatment. Gray didn’t even ask Brady if he knew what he was going to do. Gray simply asked Brady if he has a “timetable” for making a decision.
Although they laughed it off quickly, Brady’s broken-brain Andy Bernard wall punch in response to Gray’s question may have been aimed at concealing the truth, as Brady admits he routinely does. Currently, teams other than the Buccaneers aren’t supposed to talk to Brady. Recent history tells us that teams often do talk to Brady when they’re not supposed to.
Brady’s timeline will be to find out who’s interested at a time when he’s not supposed to know it. His timeline will be to weigh his options and make a decision, at or about the time free agency opens — and at or about the time other teams are permitted to talk to him.
There can be real consequences, even though tampering often happens without scrutiny or consequence. Last year, the league took a first-round pick from the Dolphins for tampering with Brady and former Saints coach Sean Payton. Brady surely doesn’t want to be responsible for causing more teams to lose first-round picks.