It took Brett Favre about six weeks to vacillate on his decision to retire.
It may be taking Brady less than one.
On his podcast Monday, Jim Gray asked Brady if he would ever consider returning. Brady didn’t exactly shoot it down.
“I'm just gonna take things as they come," he said. "I think that's the best way to put it and I don't think anything, you know, you never say never. At the same time I know that I'm very, I feel very good about my decision. I don't know how I’ll feel six months from now.”
Seriously? I know Brady admittedly lies to the media “90 percent of the time,” but was his retirement announcement a farce, too?
Substantively, there’s nothing wrong with what Brady said. He’s right: he doesn’t know how he’ll feel about returning six months from now. Feelings are fleeting, and mindfulness is about living in the moment and not projecting forward.
But if Brady is harboring any doubts, why did he make his decision so quickly? While the Buccaneers understandably wanted to know his status, there was no rush to do it before the Super Bowl. Free agency doesn’t begin until mid-March.
That’s when Favre announced his first retirement in 2008. The next month, he went on the “Late Show with David Letterman,” and indicated he would start thinking about returning when training camp began.
“I think when training camp gets close, I will -- something's bound to happen,” Favre said.
When Letterman pressed Favre, he repeated his cryptic words.
As we know, Favre wound up returning when training camp started — just like he inferred. Already set on starting Aaron Rodgers, the Packers traded Favre to the Jets. The Hall of Famer wound up playing three more seasons, even taking the Vikings to the NFC Championship.
The seeming hastiness of Brady’s retirement remains curious. The ultimate perfectionist and self-promoter bungled his announcement and then didn’t mention the Patriots in his nearly 1,000-word farewell Instagram post.
Up until early January, there was no speculation about Brady’s pending retirement. Then one month later, he calls it quits.
It’s apparent something changed in Tampa Bay. Maybe the Bucs’ chaotic finish soured Brady on his coach, Bruce Arians, and the entire operation. Perhaps the thought of playing without his fellow veteran mercenaries — the Bucs have a litany of free agents this offseason — became increasingly unappealing.
Either way, it doesn’t seem like Brady entered the 2021 season expecting it to be his last. He signed a two-year contract extension last March.
Retiring gives Brady leverage in his relationship with the Bucs. Though they retain his rights, he’s better positioned to force a trade, because he could tell the Buccaneers he only wants to play for another team. In that case, it would make sense to deal Brady, and at least receive some assets in return.
For years, Brady said he would play until he’s at least 45 and retire when he “sucked.” Neither of those things happened. Brady retired at 44 after leading the league in touchdowns and passing yards.
He engineered an unbelievable 27-3 comeback against the vaunted Rams in his last game ever … at least for now.
There are many ways Brady could’ve evaded Gray’s obviously pre-approved question. Instead, he chose to leave the door open.
Ambiguity has never been more clear.
