Thankfully for Bucs fans, quarterback Tom Brady decided to return to playing after a brief 40-day retirement earlier this offseason. After a long season and a tough loss in the playoffs, the future Hall of Famer decided to hang it up, though that didn’t last long.

In his retirement post, Brady cited a need to spend more time with his family. In a recent interview with Variety, the three-time league MVP said he made the decision to retire in the moment in part for the benefit of the Bucs. That way, they could plan for life without him.

“I made the decision in the moment, and I felt it was the right thing for the team to let the Bucs know,” Brady explained. “You need time to plan. And then through conversations with Bruce [Arians], Jason [Licht] and my wife, I felt like I could still play and compete.”

The short retirement wasn’t ideal for Brady, as he would’ve preferred to come back later in the year. But the need to inform the Bucs of his decision for roster planning purposes (as free agency was approaching) prompted him to return sooner rather than later.

“I would have preferred to un-retire in July if I wanted to play,” Brady said. “But I couldn’t. If I said I’m not playing, they’d make plans. So I felt there was a lot of pressure to make a decision quickly. And then ultimately, I just decided, “Yes, let’s do it.” And once I said that, it was like — OK, here we go.”

With the news of Brady’s return, the Bucs were able to start re-signing core pieces of the team for the upcoming season and beyond. That meant locking up receiver Chris Godwin, cornerback Carlton Davis, running back Leonard Fournette and center Ryan Jensen, signing each of them to new three year-deals. Plus, the team managed to bring in former Falcons receiver Russell Gage, signing him to a three-year deal of his own to bolster the receiving corps. Now, the Bucs aren’t just set up for this season, but for life beyond Brady – whenever that might be.

Could 2022 Be Brady’s Last Season?

Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: USA Today

With a blockbuster broadcasting deal waiting in the wings, many have speculated that this could be Brady’s last season as an NFL quarterback. However, he hasn’t ruled anything out beyond this year. While he realizes he doesn’t have another five years left, if his body feels good enough to play another year following the 2022 season, he said he’s not ruling anything off the table.

“I would say it’s year to year: Could this be my last year? Absolutely,” Brady said. “Could I change my mind? Absolutely. I’ve realized I don’t have five years left. I want to do it my way. I want to give it everything I got and see where I’m at. My body feels really good. I’ve had a lot of traumatic injuries over the years, but if things go really smoothly and we win, that’d be great.”

Brady hasn’t slammed the door closed on return for a 24th season. But if the Bucs were to win a championship this year, that may change things. With his eighth Super Bowl victory, Brady would most likely go out the way of Peyton Manning, leave the game on top as a champion.

“I think that would obviously be the greatest way to end,” he said. “I just have a competitive fire that got the best of me.”