It was Saturday evening in Manchester, England where Tom Brady watched another G.O.A.T. go to work.
37-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo netted a hat-trick to lift the Red Devils to a 3-2 victory over Tottenham Hotspur, with Brady watching from the stands of Old Trafford. And in those moments, as he watched another star athlete continue to defeat Father Time, maybe Brady knew he couldn’t walk away from the game he made look easy for 22 seasons.
Fast forward 24 hours later and Brady was once again a Buccaneer — returning for a 23rd season where he’ll turn 45 before the season begins. In the end, Brady returns to Tampa Bay after a 39-day retirement.
“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. Unfinished business LFG.”
In one tweet, all of the speculation, all the rumors — no more. Russell Wilson won’t be under center for the Buccaneers in 2022. Neither will Deshaun Watson, Jimmy Garropolo, Blaine Gabbert or Kyle Trask. It will be Brady, in a move that keeps the Buccaneers in the hunt for their second Super Bowl title in three seasons.
If you’ve listened to The JP Peterson Show since Brady announced his “retirement,” then you know that JP has never stopped believing that Brady would return. JP will have much more to say about Brady’s return during Monday’s show from 10-Noon on YouTube/Twitter and the Fan Stream Sports app, but until then, be sure to click the link below to hear his initial reaction.
So, where do the Buccaneers go from here?
You can almost certainly assume that free agents such as Rob Gronkowski, Leonard Fournette, Ryan Jensen and Alex Cappa would be willing to take discounts to return. Perhaps even Ali Marpet, who announced his retirement on Feb. 27, could make a 180 like Brady and come back to Tampa Bay.
We’ll have the answers to all of these questions by the end of the week, but for now, enjoy it, Champa Bay.
Tampa Tom is back.