Tom Brady Ends Retirement, Will Return to Buccaneers for 23rd NFL Season

Tom Brady's retirement didn't last long.

The all-time great took to Twitter on Sunday night and revealed he will be back for his 23rd season after announcing he would retire in February. He said the "time will come" to walk away from the game, but he "realized my place is still on the field and not in the stands."

Brady said he will once again play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and feels like there is "unfinished business."

Tampa Bay general manager Jason Licht and head coach Bruce Arians expressed their excitement about Brady's return in statements:

Anyone paying attention to the NFL offseason can't be that surprised Brady is coming back.

After all, speculation began almost as soon as he announced he was stepping away, and he didn't exactly do much to silence it when he went on his Let's Go! podcast and said, "You never say never," when discussing a potential return (h/t Joey Knight of the Tampa Bay Times).

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk also reported in February, "There's a definite and palpable sense that he will play again; some in league circles already believe he could be back by July. Of this year."

Part of the assumption that Brady would come back even though he will be 45 years old in August is the reality that age didn't seem to matter for him at all.

All he did in 2021 was lead the league with 5,316 passing yards and 43 touchdown passes while leading the Buccaneers to the NFC South crown and No. 2 NFC playoff seed. While they lost to the eventual champion Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round, it was still a brilliant showing from the best quarterback in history.

Brady also just so happened to lead Tampa Bay to the Lombardi Trophy the previous season.

This is clearly welcome news for the Buccaneers just ahead of the start of free agency.

They now don't have to worry about whether Blaine Gabbert or Kyle Trask will be the starter or if they need to sign someone like Jameis Winston on the open market. Quarterback also may become less of a priority in the draft, especially since Trask now has another year to learn under Brady.

From a big-picture perspective, the Buccaneers are once again right back on the short list of realistic contenders. Russell Wilson isn't even in the NFC anymore after the Seattle Seahawks traded him to the Denver Broncos, and the best quarterback list in the conference surely starts with Brady and Aaron Rodgers.

Brady has seven Super Bowl rings, five Super Bowl MVPs, three league MVPs and 15 Pro Bowl nods on his resume. His legacy was already etched in stone after 22 brilliant years with the New England Patriots and Buccaneers, and nobody could blame him for walking away even after he was excellent this past season.

Turns out, he still isn't done adding to that legacy.