No matter how hard we all try, Tom Brady rumors are like Thanos — inevitable.
We learned that the hard way a week or so ago when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were back at the center of rumors about a potential Brady return. To make matters even worse, it seemed like an inside job as the whole rumor was sparked by a quote from Antoine Winfield Jr while appearing on Richard Sherman’s podcast.
To be fair, this was more a case of aggregators taking a piece of a quote and then twisting it so that it took on a life of its own.
“I’m sure we’re still reaching out to him trying to see if he’s trying to come back to the team,” Winfield said. “Hey, it could happen. Anything’s possible.”
That’s not exactly a promise that Brady will return, or even a prediction that it will happen. The mere mention of the Bucs possible being in contact with Brady, though, caught on like wildfire and spread all over the internet.
It got to the point where Chris Godwin was being asked about it while appearing on The Rich Eisen Show.
Needless to say, when the Bucs head honchos made themselves available to the media at training camp, the topic of being in contact with Brady naturally came up and was addressed by Jason Licht.
Jason Licht addresses latest Tom Brady rumors
Licht was pretty straightforward, and confirmed that Brady and the Bucs have been in contact since the quarterback announced his retirement back in February.
“I know he still keeps in touch with a lot of players,” Licht said to the media. “I kept in touch with him — still do.”
It’s the plainness of the quote that highlights how ridiculous the Brady rumors always were. Licht didn’t even bat an eye acknowledging that the two side have talked over the offseason, because he knows that’s in no way any sort of a hint about a possible return.
Brady is retired, he’s a part-owner a franchise, and he is not coming back.
Just beacuse he’s retired doesn’t mean he can’t still make phone calls to people he knows. If anything, the fact that Brady and the Bucs still talk is further proof that his stint in Tampa Bay was an actual meaningful chapter in his career and not just a coda.
As far as Brady returning, Licht actively talked about what the team needs to do in the post-Brady era to make sure they don’t miss any beats. That doesn’t sound like a GM who is even remotely expecting a return, no matter what the rumor mill says.