It appears as if Tom Brady will not ride off into the sunset as he might have hoped, at least if the Buccaneers' season is any indication.The 45-year-old quarterback, who returned from a brief foray into retirement to play yet another season in Tampa Bay, is in the midst of arguably the worst season of his NFL career. Offensive struggles and a switch to first-year coach Todd Bowles have made for a largely disappointing 2022 season.The struggles Brady and the Bucs have faced thus far have raised the question: Will the 23-year NFL quarterback, winner of seven Super Bowls, five Super Bowl MVPs, three NFL MVPs and 15 Pro Bowls, ?For now, it appears as if Brady will ride out the remainder of the season with the struggling Buccaneers. What happens after that is anyone's gue s, especially now that Brady from longtime wife Gisele BundchenMORE: Only Brady and his family ultimately know what his future in the NFL holds. That said, he has spoken multiple times on what his immediate plans
Adam Larsson Jersey are, as well as his mindset for coming back for this latest (albeit disappointing) season: (Getty Images) Brady has said in no uncertain terms that he is not going to retire midseason from the Buccaneers. He first confirmed his intentions ahead of the Bucs' Week 7 game at the Panthers, a shocking 21-3 lo s.Reporters asked Brady about a ProFootballTalk debate that suggested he retire before the season ended.
Bill Ranford Jersey He denied that po sibility, even while acknowledging his frustrations with the 2022 season."That's really why I'm here: I'm here to announce, finally, you guys pushed me to the brink," he said. "No, I love the sport and I love the teammates, and I wanna go do a great job for this team like I always have. So, no retirement in my future."Following the Sunday lo s to the Panthers, Brady reiterated his intent to stay with the team through any struggle. Brady confirmed that on his with sportscaster Jim Gray."I said last week that there's no immediate retirement in my future. There was a retirement in the past, but I moved on from that," Brady said. "I made a commitment to this team and I love this team and I love this organization. I told them in March I was playing and I've never quit on anything in my life."And I know a bunch of teammates that we all count on one another to be at
Ryan Smyth Jersey our best and to work hard and to put the team first. And that's what you commit to and that's what you want your teammates to commit to as well."MORE: Gray then asked Brady whether he still loved the game, despite the struggles of the season. Again, Brady provided emphatic affirmation:"Absolutely," Brady said. "I was saying to Alex (Guerrero) this morning, I was doing treatment, man, it's a hard sport we've chosen and it's tough. It challenges you in every area, physically, mentally and emotionally. And certainly at this stage we're in, this is where you've got to dig deep and see what you're all about and see what kind of character you have and see what you believe in and your values as a team."Do you stand up for each other when you face adversity or do you not? That's what we're all trying to figure out every time we take the field."Brady has spoken at length about the competitive drive that made him one of the NFL's all-time greatest quarterbacks and resulted in him coming back for another season. He acknowledged there were
Esa Tikkanen Jersey mental challenges to starting another physically demanding season, but said "you can really only be authentic to yourself."Brady in his podcast compared an NFL season to something for which he later apologized. However, his comparison touched on the frustrations Bndchen reportedly has with his return to the NFL.She has publicly spoken of her desire for him to be a to their children, and also has fears and concerns about the damage his body sustains from playing in the NFL, particularly at his age.A suggests Bndchen told Brady to retire or she would be "gone for good." The report did not indicate whether that meant immediately or following the season.MORE: Brady experienced several notable career milestones all bad during the on "Thursday Night Football."The lo s marked losing streak since the 2002 season, just his third year in the league. He was also sacked twice on consecutive plays by Justin Houston before the half, giving him 556 career sacks, the most in NFL history. He broke the record set by former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in 2021.Lastly, Brady is now multiple games under .500 for the first time in his storied career. The lo s dropped the Bucs to 3-5 on the season with Brady as the starter, meaning Tampa Bay would need to win two games just to get back to an even record. The team would need to win three straight games to get back to a winning record.Brady has never had a losing season as the starting quarterback, winning no fewer than nine games in a season, a suming he was fully healthy. (He went
Nail Yakupov Jersey 1-0 as a starter in 2008, a season in which he mi sed all but the season-opener. The Patriots went 11-5 that year).The only losing season Brady has ever had in the NFL was in his rookie season, a year in which he played one game as the Patriots went 5-11 under Drew Bledsoe.MORE: Brady in April signed a one-year extension with the Buccaneers with a $15 million annual average salary and $15 million guaranteed. The restructured contract comes with a $47 million dead cap hit.Brady will become an unrestricted free agent ahead of the 2023 season, meaning this could be his final year in the league if he doesn't sign another contract.