Former New England Patriots great Tom Brady’s retirement lasted all of two months. The future Hall-of-Famer announced he is coming back for his 23rd season and returning to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The news seemed to catch plenty of people off guard including Brady’s friend and long-time teammate Julian Edelman. When the news hit, Edelman took to Twitter with this The Office-themed post to poke fun at Brady’s waffling:
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Edelman retired ahead of the 2021 season and became an analyst on Showtime’s Inside the NFL. Some will surely wonder if Edelman will try to find a way to play with the Bucs next year, but it seems unlikely.
Edelman said Brady tried to recruit him when he landed in Tampa Bay back in 2020 and he chose to remain in New England. It is tough to imagine he would go against that after sitting out the 2021 campaign.
Many Patriots fans still follow Brady’s career, thus it was pretty big news in Patriots Nation when The G.O.A.T made his big announcement.
Others in Patriots Nation React to Tom Brady Unretiring
Wes Blankenship of OnSports3 highlights Brady one-upping the top quarterback stories this offseason.
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Russell Wilson: I have an announcement
Aaron Rodgers: I have an announcement about my announcement
Tom Brady: I’d like to un-announce my announcement
The Carolina Panthers’ official Twitter account didn’t seem to enthused by Brady’s announcement.
The Los Angeles Rams’ all-world cornerback was glad to see Brady return so that he could shake the dubious distinction.
Former NFL tight end Jacob Tamme jokes Brady’s decision might have been influenced by confusion brought on by Daylight Savings Time.
Did nobody warn Tom Brady about making big decisions when your brain is all messed up from daylight savings time?
Front Office Sports makes mention of the historic football that sold for $518,000 on Saturday night because it was supposedly used in the last touchdown of Brady’s career. Uh oh.
Someone paid $519,000 at an auction for Tom Brady’s last touchdown ball…
… last night.
That person doesn’t get a refund and it remains to be seen how much the value will drop on the ball. Something implies that a person who is wealthy enough to invest $518,000 in a football souvenir isn’t too worried about the depreciation brought on by Brady’s change of heart.
Pro Football Talk on Twitter called out Bruce Arians for his inaccurate predictions concerning Brady’s career.
Before Tom Brady retired, Bruce Arians said he’d be shocked if Brady retired. After Tom Brady retired, Bruce Arians said he’d be shocked if Brady came back. It would be very nice to know the next thing that would shock Bruce Arians.
Arians had some peculiar comments about Brady just before he announced his retirement. It’ll be interesting to hear what his first comments will be now that Brady is returning for the 2022 season.
USA Today’s Henry McKenna wonders if Brady’s next retirement will include the sort of longform tribute to the Patriots many were expecting from him two months ago.
So when Tom Brady retires next time, will he include the Patriots in THAT 1000-word post?
Brady initially didn’t thank or mention any member of the Patriots organization. However, after the Patriots and owner Robert Kraft acknowledged the legend, he reciprocated on social media.
Is There a Chance Tom Brady Could Ever Return to the Patriots?
It seems like a longshot we’ll ever see Brady in a Patriots uniform again. However, we have learned to never say never in sports. The Patriots seem pleased with Mac Jones as their quarterback of the present and future.
Brady will be a free agent at the end of the 2022 season and if he chooses to keep playing, there will be a bidding war for his services–even going into his age 46 season. If Jones struggled mightily in 2022, the speculation would get a bit louder.
Still, it’s tough to fathom that series of events taking place.
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Patriots Legend Reacts to Tom Brady’s Change of Heart