WILL THE BUCC STOP HERE?
Brady mulling retirement (again) after Tampa are sent packing
TOM BRADY fired the starting gun on his latest retirement debate as Tampa Bay crashed out in the first round of the NFL playoffs.
The Buccaneers were a long way short of their best as they were soundly beaten by the Dallas Cowboys, 31-14.
Brady retired after last season only to change his mind 40 days later and return for a 23rd campaign in pursuit of an eighth Super Bowl win.
But with his season over and his 46th birthday in August, five weeks before the new season starts, Brady will once again consider his future.
Asked what he was going to do next, the bitterly disappointed quarterback said: “I’m going to go home, get a good night’s sleep, as good as I can tonight. There has been a lot of focus on this game. It’ll just be one day at a time, truly.”
But Brady (below) did appear to be preparing for the possibility this was his last outing – whether with Tampa Bay or at all – with some of his actions after the game.
First there was an emotional embrace with his parents and sister near the tunnel. Then there was a message of thanks at the end of his press conference, even going so far as to thank the media in front of him and telling them that he appreciated the fact they had a “tough job”. “It just feels like the end of the season,” he said. “I love this organisation. It’s a great place to be. Thank you for welcoming me.”
If this was the end, it was not the way a player widely considered to be the best quarterback ever to grace the NFL would have wanted to go. Brady completed 35 of 66 passes for 351 yards and two touchdowns but threw an interception while in position to score, and misfired too often. For only the second time in a total of 48 playoff appearances, he was held scoreless in the first half. The Cowboys will now face the San Francisco 49ers, the team that eliminated them in 2021, in this weekend’s second round.