ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington reported on Saturday afternoon that Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady will retire from the NFL after 22 seasons.
While the news took the league by storm, we have yet to hear from Brady himself regarding his decision to continue playing or to retire, leaving the door open that the reports were potentially premature.
Brady’s longtime agent, Don Yee, sent a text to SI’s Albert Breer saying that Brady will be the only person to make the announcement “with complete accuracy”.
A report from Rick Stroud, the longtime Buccaneers beat reporter for the Tampa Bay Times, indicated that Yee told Arians that Brady had yet to make up his mind.
Could Brady return to the Buccaneers after all? Several sources told NFL Network's Ian Rapaport that the pushback to the retirement report appears to be based on timing, rather than the eventual decision.
Regardless of whether or not Brady calls it quits, he has just concluded one of the best statistical seasons of his storied career. Brady set a league-high and career-best 5,316 passing yards with 43 touchdowns to 11 interceptions, while completing 67.5% of his passes in the process.
