Getty Tom Brady doesn't rule out a return to the NFL in a recent podcast.
Though Tom Brady, 46, stayed retired for one NFL season, the former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback hasn’t ruled out a return for 2024.
“I’m not opposed to it,” Brady told Vic Blends during the “Deep Cuts Podcast” on Thursday. “I don’t know if they’re going to let me by becoming an owner in an NFL team.”
“I’m always in good shape. Always able to throw the ball,” Brady added. “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.”
Tom Brady says he’s not opposed to returning to football if a team calls.
Mentions the #49ers, #Raiders and #Patriots as possible teams 👀
(H/T: @SavageSports_)
Blend set up the hypothetical quarterback injury scenario in the discussion with Brady, and the Patriots, Las Vegas Raiders, and San Francisco 49ers came up as possible teams to call Brady. Brady is on track to have part ownership of the Raiders, and the 49ers had prior interest in him.
The Patriots look poised to draft a new quarterback and have Jacoby Brissett on the roster as a bridge quarterback. Las Vegas could draft a quarterback after letting go of Jimmy Garoppolo, and San Francisco is established with Brock Purdy as the starter.
After 23 seasons, Brady retired from the NFL in March 2023, and he plans to broadcast games for FOX in 2024 after a year away from the game. Brady led the Patriots to six Super Bowl wins between 2001 and 2019 followed by his 2020 championship with the Buccaneers.
He left behind arguably the greatest legacy in NFL history with seven Super Bowl rings, five Super Bowl MVPs, three regular season MVPs, and numerous records. A former sixth-round pick from Michigan, Brady emerged from obscurity and threw for 89,214 yards and 649 touchdowns versus 212 interceptions.
Julian Edelman Recalls the Time Tom Brady Coaxed Him to Tampa Bay
When Brady played for the Buccaneers, he brought a few former Patriots with him over his three-year stint with the team.
That nearly included former Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman. The two connected effectively on the field and won three Super Bowls together — including one where Edelman won MVP.
“He (Brady) would joke around about leaving with me for like four years. So this time, I was like, ‘Boy crying wolf,’” Edelman said on “The Rush with Maxx Crosby” podcast on April 5. “He left. He hit me up when he left, and he goes, ‘Hey baby, you want me to get you down here?’ I said, ‘Nah, I’m good, bro. I’m a one-team man.’”
“I’m a pretty loyal guy when it comes to football,” Edelman added.
A seventh-round draft pick in 2009, Edelman played for the Patriots until 2020 and retired after that season. Edelman tallied 620 receptions for 6,822 yards and 36 touchdowns in his career.
5 Former Patriots Followed Tom Brady to Tampa Bay
While Edelman didn’t follow Brady to Tampa, former Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski did in 2020. Former Patriots wide receiver Antonio Brown also joined the Buccaneers that year as did former Patriots running back Kenjon Barner.
In 2022, former Patriots offensive lineman Shaq Mason and defensive back Logan Ryan both joined Brady and the Buccaneers.