“I would have thought that would have been toward training camp” - NFL analyst surprised by how early Tom Brady came out of retirement
As soon as brady" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Tom Brady retired, NFL analysts immediately came out of the woodwork saying they expected him to return. However, most, including sports journalist Bomani Jones, assumed he would announce his return over the summer.
Speaking on ESPN's First Take, Jones admitted to being surprised just how quickly the quarterback took a U-turn on his retirement. He said:
“I think I was more surprised about the 40 days later part than the unretire part. I could totally see unretiring. But I would have thought that would have been toward training camp, right? Like we watched Brett Favre do it, and it would be like, ‘Oh, it's time to get back. You start to get anxious.’ And you're like, ‘Okay, I'm going to do that.’"
These past two months I’ve realized my place is still on the field and not in the stands. That time will come. But it’s not now. I love my teammates, and I love my supportive family. They make it all possible. I’m coming back for my 23rd season in Tampa. Unfinished business LFG https://t.co/U0yhRKVKVm
Continuing, Jones thinks the length of retirement is tied to the circumstances that led him to retire:
"Normally, when cats make a move like Brady did, it's like a couple of years before they were a little tired of it. And then they, you know, came back around and are like ‘okay, I'll go to training camp.’ I thought it would be much later if he made a move like that. And that's why I look at this kind of curious as to what went to the initial decision and where we got to at this point."
Tom Brady last's nine seasons:
2013: Lose playoff game
2014: Win Super Bowl
2015: Lose playoff game
2016: Win Super Bowl
2017: Lose playoff game
2018: Win Super Bowl
2019: Lose playoff game
2020: Win Super Bowl
2021: Lose playoff game
2022: ???
Jones added a bit of speculation as to why Brady returned now:
"Is he just kind of betting like ‘look, if I am going to come back, I probably need to do it now so that the Bucs will know what they can do so they don't go draft a quarterback or come up with some other plan. Like, let me make sure I got my spot while my spot while my spot is still there.’”
Why did Tom Brady retire?
According to Jones, retired players that do return to the NFL tend to do so after an extended absence. Tight end Jason Witten missed an entire season. So did tight end Rob Gronkowski. Eric Weddle missed most of 2021 before returning for one last run with the Los Angeles Rams. However, Brady didn't miss a single snap.
It makes one wonder if Brady orchestrated his "retirement" to create a new frontier for himself. If he wins the Super Bowl again, he would be the only quarterback to win a Super Bowl as a once-retired quarterback. Of course, as Jones did on First Take, NFL analysts can only guess without a tell-all from the quarterback himself.