Bruce Arians on If Bucs Would Help Tom Brady Return Elsewhere: 'Nope. Bad Business'

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians provided a blunt response Tuesday when asked whether the Bucs would trade quarterback Tom Brady if he wanted to come out of retirement with a different team in 2022.

"Nope. Bad business," Arians told reporters before adding:

Although Brady announced his retirement Feb. 1, he's still under contract with Tampa Bay for another season, so the Bucs retain his rights should he decide to return.

General manager Jason Licht said earlier Tuesday that the organization would "leave the light on" if the seven-time Super Bowl champion wanted to rejoin its roster:

Brady suggested last month he wasn't completely ruling out a future return, saying on the Let's Go! podcast that "you never say never," but Arians explained he got a different vibe from the longtime face of the New England Patriots franchise when they discussed the decision.

"He slammed [the door] shut when I talked to him," Arians said Tuesday.

The Bucs coach is right to say trading Brady would be bad business. The team built its roster to compete for titles in the short term while he was on the team, so trading him to another contender, especially an NFC rival, during that window would be tough to swallow.

Yet it's fair to wonder whether the NFL would step in to serve as a mediator if Brady made it clear he wanted to play in 2022 but would only do so if traded to a preferred destination.

A situation in which the most accomplished player in league history wants to play but is being kept in retirement by the Bucs wouldn't be ideal for Commissioner Roger Goodell and Co.

Brady could also sit out next season and then go through free agency in 2023.

All of those various outcomes are pure speculation, of course. Aside from leaving the door slightly ajar for a potential comeback at an undetermined point in the future, the 44-year-old three-time MVP hasn't committed to a return, and he's just one month into retirement.

Nevertheless, expect the Brady rumors to continue until he makes a definitive statement that he won't play in 2022.