Tom Brady is technically retired, though the three-time NFL MVP's future seems to be as hot of topic as those of Aaron Rodgers, Deshaun Watson and Russell Wilson.
On Thursday's edition of "PFT Live," Mike Florio read a half-joking email that he received, before predicting that Brady will come out of retirement to play for the San Francisco 49ers in 2022.
"...[I] got a great email. I don't know that the person wants his name to be shared, but it's explaining what's going on with Tom Brady. [It's a] classic mid-life crisis; Step 1, a divorce from the Patriots; Step 2, a short-term relationship with a trophy girl [like the] Buccaneers; Step 3, a late-night text to the high school sweetheart, a.k.a the 49ers.
"I'm telling you, it's unavoidable. He's not gonna lower himself to have to dirty himself the way Aaron Rodgers is. He's gonna work it all behind the scenes. I just ... I think he's gonna be with the 49ers Week 1 [of the 2022 season]. I'm rooting for that so badly."
It's been less than a month since Brady announced his retirement in an Instagram post, but his "never say never" answer about potentially returning in the future has fueled quite a bit of speculation about the seven-time Super Bowl Champion playing somewhere in 2022.
Rick Stroud of The Tampa Bay Times reported last week that the Buccaneers plan to retain Brady's rights by placing him on the reserved/retired list after June 1. That means if Brady did decide to return, he would either have to play with the Buccaneers or get them to trade or release him.
At this juncture, the Buccaneers would have no reason to not welcome Brady back. Even in his age-44 season, Brady led the NFL in passing yards (5,316) and touchdown passes (43). The best path to Tampa Bay making a Super Bowl run in 2022 would probably be with Brady under center.
With that said, if Brady decided later in the summer -- after the Buccaneers have potentially traded for another star quarterback -- to return, Tampa Bay may not be willing to change course and would be more open to the idea of trading or releasing Brady. The Green Bay Packers pivoted to the aforementioned Rodgers after Brett Favre retired in March of 2008, and by the time he decided that he wanted to return in July of 2008, the Packers didn't necessarily want him back because they knew Rodgers had superstar potential.
With that said, the Packers didn't release Favre, they traded him. Rather than allowing him to potentially sign with the division-rival Minnesota Vikings, the Packers had trade talks with the Buccaneers and New York Jets regarding Favre, ultimately trading him to the Jets.
Presumably, if the Buccaneers traded for Rodgers, Watson or Wilson -- which is far from a given -- they would view themselves as Super Bowl contenders in 2022. They may be willing to accommodate Brady, who transformed their organization in his two years with the team, in some way, although it would be understandable if the Buccaneers had reservations about him potentially ending up with another Super Bowl contender in the NFC.
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