The Tampa Bay Buccaneers weren't the only team to bring a retired player out of the shadows and back into the spotlight of an NFL Sunday.
After the Bucs signed Jason Pierre-Paul, who hadn't played a snap in the league since 2023, the Indianapolis Colts one-upped them by bringing a potential Hall of Fame quarterback out of retirement.
No, it's not Tom Brady but somehow Philip Rivers unretiring to play for the Colts on Sunday is even more surprising. Rivers hasn't taken a snap in the NFL since January 2021, and is making his first start in almost four years after having been signed off his couch less than a week ago.
Brady will be active on Sunday but will be up in the booth for FOX where he's made his living since riding into retirement. Rivers' return had everyone wondering if the same could happen for Brady, who has been rumored to be making a return ever since he left the Bucs back in 2023.
Tom Brady reveals the one reason he won't come out of retirement and return to the NFL
While he won't be calling the Seahawks-Colts game on Sunday afternoon, Brady did weigh in on whether he could pull off what Rivers is doing. He unsurprisingly said he could do it, but in the same breath revealed why he won't.
"Yes, I certainly could," Brady said. "I think the answer for me would be yes. I’m not allowed to anymore because I’m a minority owner of the Raiders, so I can’t unretire."
That ownership clause has caused Brady more complications than just being unable to return and play in the league. Due to the same NFL rules that are keeping him in retirement, Brady has to treade lightly when doing pre-production work as an analyst.
Since he's an owner of a team and therefore could be using the production meetings as a competitive advantage, it's a conflict of interest. The league has softened a bit on what Brady is and isn't allowed to do, but the guardrails are still firm.
It's those same guardrails keeping him from being unable to come out of retirement. Whether he actually would, or this is a convenient way to diffuse those rumors, is a totally different conversation.