Tom Brady has said that he “hasn’t put a lot of thought” into retiring from the NFL as rumours swirl over the quarterback’s future.
The 44-year-old’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers were beaten 30-27 by the Los Angeles Rams in a captivating divisional round encounter on Sunday, ending the defending Super Bowl champions’ hopes of a repeat of their triumph last season.
Brady produced another outstanding season, leading the league in passing yards and passing touchdowns, and setting a new NFL record for completions in a season.
The seven-time Super Bowl winner has previously suggested that he wanted to play until he was at least 45, but former teammates of Brady have speculated in the last week that he may be considering retirement.
In the immediate aftermath of defeat to the Rams, Brady conceded that he had not done too much thinking about his future.
“I haven’t put a lot of thought into it,” Brady told reporters at Raymond James Stadium. “|We’ll just take it day by day and see where we’re at.
“I was just thinking about winning. That’s just kind of my mentality to go out there and try to win, give my team the best chance to win.”
The Buccaneers had trailed by 24 points during the second half of Sunday’s battle with the Rams in Tampa, but Brady, true to form, launched an improbable comeback.
He led a game-tying drive inside the final two minutes, allowing Leonard Fournette to rumble in from nine yards out with 42 seconds left.
However that was time enough for Matthew Stafford to find Cooper Kupp streaking behind the Buccaneers defensive backfield to advance the Rams into field goal range, and Matt Gay’s 30-yard kick enabled Los Angeles to progress to a meeting with the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game.
The oldest NFL player in history is George Blanda, a quarterback and kicker who played his last game at the age of 48 in 1975.
Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians confirmed that he will remain in post for the 2022 season.
Arians was tempted out of retirement by Tampa Bay in 2019.
Asked if he expected his starting quarterback to return alongside him, Arians said that it was “up to Tom”, suggesting he is unsure if Brady will be back for a third season in Florida.
