Chris Godwin weighs in on rumors Tom Brady might return to Buccaneers

Just when we thought we were out, we all got pulled back into random Tom Brady rumors.

Add to that the fact that it was an inside job and it all begins to amount to quite a whirlwind week for Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans. The fervor started over the weekend when Antoine Winfield dropped by Richard Sherman's podcast and lit the fuse on rumors that Brady could be returning to the Bucs.

To be perfectly clear, Winfield didn't say Brady was returning or even that he's heard such rumblings inside the walls of One Buccaneers Place. Rather, he mused about how the team probably reached out to him at some point about a return which was then aggregated into oblivion to varying degrees of truth.

These sorts of quotes always end up being like a game of telephone, where Winfield said one thing and it eventually ends up something entirely different with only a kernel of his original intent present.

Nevertheless, the world is always hungry for Brady rumors and Winfield gave them enough meat on the bone to pick at. The idea of Brady returning to the Bucs makes absolutely zero sense when you think about it for more than a few seconds, but that hasn't stopped it from catching on to the point where Bucs players are being asked about it in national interviews.

Chris Godwin comments on latest Tom Brady rumors

Buccaneers receiver Chris Godwin was a guest on The Rich Eisen Show this week, and was asked about the rumors. Godwin said he hadn't heard about Winfield stoking the coals, but didn't take long to set the record straight.

"I'd be surprised if [Brady] came out of retirement again," Godwin said to Eisen. "Put me down for that, I'd be very, very shocked."

That's not only sensical, it's veteran leadership. Rather than let this thing drag out or avoid it, Godwin tried to nip it in the bud.

While he admitted he hasn't spoken with Brady recently but pointed out that he sees a guy who is comfortable in retirement.

"We talked a couple of times since he's been retired but not like within the last couple of months," Godwin said. "He's been doing this for so long and how he's finally retired. I think it's cool to see him getting to spend as much time as he has with his family, but also see him get out there and open himself up."

It certainly doesn't hurt to imagine what the Bucs fortunes would be if Brady returned for a second time, but that's pretty much where it ends. The idea of Brady coming back falls apart as soon as you think about his ownership stake with the Raiders, his commitment to his family and business interests, and how is essentially financially impossible for Tampa Bay.

That won't stop it from being a talking point, which is objectively interesting, but it doesn't sound like this will be much more than that.