In an unforeseen turn of events, legendary quarterback Tom Brady announced he would be coming back for his 23rd NFL season. This comes just forty days after he announced his retirement. Brady, 44, put his announcement on social media Sunday.
“These past two months I’ve realized my place is still on the field and not in the stands,” Brady wrote. “That time will come. But it’s not now. I love my teammates, and I love my supportive family. They make it all possible. I’m coming back for my 23rd season in Tampa.”
Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arian felt that Brady’s retirement was mainly family oriented, not having enough time with his children and wife. But Brady is able to return because of the full support of his family.
Brady, who is a seven-time Super Bowl champion and five-time Super Bowl Most Valuable Player, will be playing his third season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, after playing the first two decades of his career with the New England Patriots. The Patriots drafted him with the 199th overall pick in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL draft.
Brady’s decision comes the day before NFL free agency gets underway. It is a longshot that the Buccaneers will resign all of their free agents. Tight end Rob Gronkowski, center Ryan Jensen, right guard Alex Cappa, cornerback Carlton Davis, running back Leonard Fournette, safety Jordan Whitehead, defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh and outside linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul are set to become unrestricted free agents with the Bucs currently $11 million over the salary cap. Gronkowski has been on the fence about returning for the 2022 campaign and said at the end of last season that his decision would not be tied to Brady. Brady is the only quarterback he has played with.
In his illustrious career, Brady has won three NFL regular-season MVP awards (2007, 2010, 2017) and earned his 15th Pro Bowl selection this season. In 2021, he led the NFL with 43 touchdown passes and a career high 5,316 passing yards. Brady is the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yards (84,250), passing touchdowns (624) and completions (7,263). He also has a plethora of post-season records, including 13,049 passing yards and 86 passing touchdowns. His Super Bowl record of 7-3 also includes completions (277), touchdown passes (21) and passing yards (3,039).
Brady will go down in NFL history for the most important statistic, wins. His 278 wins combined in the regular season and playoffs are 78 more than the next quarterback on the all-time list, Hall of Famer and rival Peyton Manning. His overall winning percentage of .766 is the best among quarterbacks with at least 100 career starts.
