Tom Brady announced his retirement from the NFL on February 1 after the Buccaneers failed to reach the Super Bowl. However, the seven-time Super Bowl winner didn’t stay out of the game for long. Brady came out of retirement only a month after announcing that he was stepping down, meaning he will now play his 23rd competitive season come September.
The Goat Felt He Still Had a Place in the NFL
Talking to ESPN Brady said that as short as his retirement was, he knew that he had to come back even earlier than that. The Bucs quarterback was well aware that he was physically ready to compete for another season and that he still had a place in the NFL.
Brady said that he knew that his body could do what it always did and that his love for the game was still there. So, it was only natural to return to the field.
The defeat to the Rams in the NFC Divisional playoff game also played a role in Brady’s decision to return. He told ESPN that ending the season with a defeat left a bitter taste in his mouth and that the only way to make amends for that was to return and correct the mistakes the Bucs made.
Brady Played a Superb Season
However, other than that final defeat at the hands of the LA Rams, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn’t do much wrong last season. That went double for Brady.
The 44-year-old quarterback played a season that belied his age. He was throwing for 5,136 – a career-high and had 43 touchdowns. He could have won the MVP award had it not been for Aaron Rodgers, but Brady already has three of those, so he was probably not that disappointed about missing out.
Brady wants to Spend More Time with His Kids
Despite being 44, Brady can still play at the highest level, and he can probably do that for a few more years. The only thing that might make him retire seems to be his family. In fact, it was his wife and kids and his desire to spend more time with them that he cited as a reason for his retirement back in February.
Talking to ESPN Brady said that he knew he didn’t have a lot left and that he was nearing the end of his career. As much as he wished to go on forever it was just not possible, and football came at too high of a cost for him now.
With his kids getting older, Brady said that he knew it was going to get harder not to spend time with them and miss seeing them grow up.
However, now that he has returned for at least one more season, Brady said he was happy he could give himself and the whole organization another opportunity to win and accomplish something they would all be proud of.
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