"Buccaneers knew this was a strong possibility" - Insider claims franchise was in on Tom Brady's retirement plan
The NFL was sent into shock on Saturday after reports suggested Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady was set to retire after 22 seasons in the league. Since the news broke, Brady's father was quick to state that his son hadn't yet made a decision on his retirement and the reports were just rumors.
Brady has also spoken with Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht to inform him that he hasn't made up his mind yet. Needless to say, this has become a very messy situation, one which Brady would have wanted to avoid, and clearly there has been some miscommunication somewhere between those involved.
Confirming Tom Brady has called #Bucs GM Jason Licht to inform him he has NOT made up his mind about retiring or playing in 2022. @MikeSilver reported it first.
The 44-year-old future Hall of Famer's plans following this season have been a talking point around the league recently, with many speculating this would be his last season. So it shouldn't come as a shock to the Buccaneers if he does decide to hang up his cleats.
Buccaneers should not be surprised if Tom Brady official retires
According to one NFL insider, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, Tampa Bay learned that their quarterback may retire around two months ago. While speaking on SportsCenter, Fowler stated that he believed the franchise was already preparing for change. He said:
"After asking around yesterday and this morning, the sense I get is that the Bucs knew this was, at least, a strong possibility for about two months because, early in the year, Tom Brady was speaking publicly about how he wanted to play multiple years and keep this thing rolling.
"And then sort of behind the scenes there was a little bit of a shift in tone. As one source told me, he talked an awful lot about his family. As he should, he's got a beautiful family. And it's not that he didn't do that before, but it became clear that he was looking at the bigger picture more, wanting to spend time with his kids.
"And the Bucs coaches going through these interview processes, Todd Bowles and Byron Leftwich both coordinators have been up for head coaching jobs, they were doing those discussions knowing that change is possibly or likely coming in Tampa.
ESPN's Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington broke the news on Twitter on Saturday that the seven-time Super Bowl winner was retiring. However, within hours of this news, several sources close to the quarterback stated this was not the case. Those sources included his agent and his father.
Tom Brady is retiring from football after 22 extraordinary seasons, multiple sources tell @JeffDarlington and me.
More coming on ESPN.com. https://t.co/6CHWmMlyXg
Retirement for Brady is very much still a likely possibility, but it should be announced by him and when he feels it is time. It should be his decision how, when, and where the news is broken. Surely, the greatest quarterback of all time has earned that much?