Just because Tom Brady retired from the NFL doesn’t mean it’s going to stick. There’s no shame in fans being fooled once, but The Boy Who Cried Wolf caught less heat than Brady is upon walking away from the game a second time.
He’s been retired for less than a week and already there are rumors he’ll go back on his word again.
Brady was on The Herd with Colin Cowherd and discussed in great detail his decision to retire from the NFL. Despite going on at length about what motivated him to finally walk away, he didn’t directly answer Cowherd’s question about whether or not he could see himself unretiring for a second time.
To be fair, Brady answered the question but not directly.
Tom Brady was asked on @TheHerd if there was a 1 percent chance he could play again. He never really answered the question but said: "“I think for me, I know in my heart how I feel. I put it out on the field for 23 years and I’m super proud of what’s been accomplished...
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) February 6, 2023
It’s impossible to not read into anything Brady says right now, even if it’s just our own one percent. Fans watched Brady retire once and then go back on that a month later, and no one is truly going to believe he’s finished until next season starts and he’s not on an active roster.
For anyone thinking the Is Tom Brady Returning rumors are bad in the immediate aftermath of his second retirement announcement, just wait until the summer. There will undoubtedly be a team that Brady is linked to, whether realistically or as a fantasy, and the rumor will catch fire.
In fact, it’s already started with this answer to Cowherd. Fans are putting on their tinfoil hats to try and connect dots between Brady’s answer and his plan to return for one more season. The root of this new conspiracy theory revolves around Brady waiting to make his NFL on FOX debut until the 2024 season.
Logically that makes a lot of sense. He’s mentioned time and time again how much he’s missed spending time with his children and a year away from football gives him all the time in the world to be a dad and not a quarterback.
But why bring logic into an NFL conspiracy theory? Rather than assume he’s going to take a year to himself before dedicating his Sundays to football again for the foreseeable future, fans think the year off means he’s returning for one more season.
Bros coming back fs
— Wes (@Wes3Jones) February 6, 2023
So he’s playing next year?
— Luke Garrison (SonicHockeyCoolFanAccount) (@SHCBackupAcc) February 6, 2023
He’s keeping the door open to come out of retirement in case a contender has QB injury
— raidersxlakers (@raiders303) February 6, 2023
One last season.
— Dylan (@DyFrex___) February 6, 2023
Leave it to Brady to walk away from the game but not the chaos.