"I like staying busy" - Tom Brady breaks silence on sensational NFL retirement U-turn
Tom Brady is retired... or is he? The former Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback called it a career on February 1st shortly after the Bucs' divisional-round loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Six days into retirement, Brady said that the door is open to playing again and also quipped in with “never say never” when asked about un-retiring.
Brady added to the mystery of whether he'll remain retired or not earlier this week when he made an appearance on Fred Couples' SiriusXM Radio Show. Couples asked Brady where he's headed to next, to which Brady said he likes staying busy and wishes he had a clearer vision of what the future holds.
"I wish I had a clearer vision of what the future holds," Brady said. "But I think for me... there's a lot of great things and a lot of great opportunities. I know I said right after football season, I was looking forward to spending time with my family. And I've done that the last five weeks. I know there'll be a lot more of that too. So you know, I like staying busy. That's for sure. I played a little bit of golf. And I'm actually going to see my parents tonight, which will be a real highlight for me on their turf. I'll be sleeping in the same bed I slept that when I was a kid, I don't think my mom knows I'm coming home yet. So it's just between my dad and I.. is a little bit of a surprise. So looking forward to that... to some golf in the next few days and some more family time and we'll figure out where we go from there."
Here’s Tom Brady, asked about his future last night on Fred Couples’ @SIRIUSXM radio show: https://t.co/Vn1K8XUf95
Bruce Arians said he wouldn't trade Tom Brady unless a team gave them five first-round picks
If Brady decides he wants to return and play football again, it may be harder than it seems. Brady is still under contract with the Buccaneers for the 2022-2023 season, so if he wishes to play elsewhere, he would have to be traded.
There's one problem with that. While the Bucs are open to Brady's return, they don't seem keen on a his trade. When asked what it would take to trade Brady away, head coach Bruce Arians responded by saying "five first-round picks." It's not certain that a team would trade that many first-round picks for a 44-year-old quarterback, but it'll be interesting to see what happens if the former No. 12 really wants to return to the field.