Getty Tom Brady could join the Bengals if Joe Burrow were to get injured again.
Tom Brady‘s name surfaced when the Cincinnati Bengals lost quarterback Joe Burrow in 2023, but it could have more steam this year if injury misfortune strikes again.
Brady declared that he’s “not opposed” to playing in the NFL again when talked with Vic Blends of the “Deep Cut Podcast” on Thursday. Blends floated the question to Brady with a playoff team, the San Francisco 49ers, as an example.
“Let’s say there’s a situation, right? Maybe the [San Francisco] 49ers, maybe, you know, headed to the playoffs,” Blends said. “Offense is great … somebody goes down. Would you pick up that phone?”
Cincinnati, a Super Bowl team in 2022, saw that frightful scenario play out in 2023 when Burrow’s wrist injury sidelined him for the season. Brady, who didn’t plan to come back last season, elaborated on why it’s possible this year and what obstacles there are.
“I’m not opposed to it,” Brady said. “I don’t know if they’re going to let me by becoming an owner in an NFL team.”
Tom Brady says he wouldn’t be opposed to coming back if a team calls.
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“I’m always in good shape. Always able to throw the ball. So to come in for a little bit like M.J. [Michael Jordan] coming back, I don’t know if they’d let me, but I wouldn’t be opposed to it,” Brady continued.
If Brady takes on part ownership with the Las Vegas Raiders, NFL owners would require a majority vote for Brady to also play.
Tom Brady is ‘Real Serious’ About a Comeback, Vic Blends Says
While Brady will turn 47 before the 2024 season, he’s “real serious” about the comeback consideration as Blends sees it.
“I’m going to be honest; I think Tom is real serious when he says something like that,” Blends said via Sports Illustrated’s “All Steelers” on Friday. “I don’t think this guy lies one bit. If he says something then he means. I can’t say it’s 100%, but I can say that guy does not [expletive] around.”
Either way, Cincinnati could use a stronger solution at backup quarterback. Jake Browning went 4-3 as starter as he threw for 1,936 yards and 12 touchdowns versus seven interceptions, but he couldn’t lead the Bengals to the playoffs.
It also marked the second time Burrow went down with a season-ending injury in four seasons and the team stayed home for the postseason. The 2020 Bengals realistically wouldn’t have made the playoffs with Burrow amid a 2-7-1 start, but the team didn’t haven’t his leadership either.
Joe Burrow Focused on Coming Back Strong
For now, Burrow is focused on coming back stronger than ever from the wrist injury. That’s includes putting on muscle.
“Trying to get a little bigger and stronger. That’s kind of been a focus this offseason,” Burrow said via Bengals.com’s Geoff Hobson. “We’ll see where it goes. That will kind of be determined as we get closer to training camp. See how I feel.”
“I’m doing the rehab every day. That’s always a part of it,” Burrow added. “As far as my offseason training, it hasn’t really affected it too much. I’ve been able to pretty much do everything I normally do from a lifting and conditioning standpoint. I’m in a great spot body-wise.”