Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady spoke in-depth for the first time on his decision for unretire but it left unanswered questions.
Brady, 44, who did an exclusive interview with ESPN recently, didn’t talk about rumors of playing elsewhere or the retirement of former Bucs head coach Bruce Arians. Expecting transparency fitting of a public official, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio called out Brady and ESPN for not talking about the elephants in the room surrounding the quarterback’s Feb. 1 retirement and March 13 unretirement in a 41-day span.
“To summarize, Brady has been at the center of the biggest stories of the offseason, he rarely speaks publicly, and when he finally does we get a handful of predictable, sanitized, worthless quotes,” Florio wrote. “Major questions weren’t asked. If they were asked, they weren’t answered. If they were answered, they weren’t printed.”
GettyRumors of Tom Brady joining the Miami Dolphins circulated this offseason.
Notably, Florio reported Brady’s potential of joining the Miami Dolphins as a minority owner and unretiring there to play before that ended amid the Brian Flores lawsuit. Florio likewise reported on issues between Brady and Arians that led to the Bucs elevating defensive coordinator Todd Bowles to head coach.
“Many believe Brady conditioned his return on a change being made,” Florio wrote. “That issue isn’t mentioned, in any way.”
Brady and ESPN had multiple business partnerships, Florio noted. ESPN ran Brady’s documentary “Man in the Arena”, which continues next week with episode 10 that features his time in Tampa Bay. Brady also has part in ESPN’s first-ever NFT products. Florior questioned “the parameters” of ESPN’s Tom VanHaaren interview with Brady and called it an “informercial” essentially.
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Unfinished Business for Brady
Regarding his short-lived retirement, Brady admitted to VanHaaren that he just couldn’t hang it up for good in the end as NFL free agency arrived.
“At the end of the day, I just love the competition on the field,” Brady told VanHaaren. “And last year was a very bitter ending to a season and we’ve got to make a lot of corrections to try to improve and put ourselves in a better position to succeed moving forward.”
What a game Los Angeles defeats Tampa Bay 30-27
#Rams 30 #Buccaneers 27 F
Brady added, “I wanted to give myself and my teammates and our organization another incredible opportunity to accomplish something that we’d all be very proud of.”
The Bucs lost a repeat bid in falling late to the Los Angeles Rams 30-27 in the Divisional Round on Jan. 23. Brady had a career year amid the Bucs’ 13-4 season with 5,136 passing yards and 43 touchdowns, which had him in the running for MVP.
“I knew my body, physically, could still do what it could do and obviously I have a love for the game, I think I’ll always have a love for the game,” Brady told VanHaaren. “I do think physically I’ll be able to do it. I just felt like there was still a place for me on the field.”
Timing Still Unknown for Brady
Brady, who mentioned family as a major reason for retiring Feb. 1, indicated it will factor into when he retires permanently.
“I know I don’t have a lot left, I really do. I know I’m at the end of my career,” Brady told VanHaaren. “I wish you could go forever, but it’s just not and football comes at too high of a cost now. My kids are getting older and it’s just getting harder and harder to miss these things.”
Brady has two children — Benjamin and Vivian — with his wife, Gisele Bundchen, in addition to Jack, who lives with Brady’s former girlfriend, Bridgette Moynahan.
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NFL Analyst Calls Out Tom Brady, ESPN