Tom Brady Return Rumors Snubbed by NFL Scouts: QB 'Looked Pretty Cooked' 2 Years Ago

People around the NFL are already throwing cold water on the idea of a comeback by Tom Brady, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

Fowler reported Monday on Get Up he has "heard minimal traction about this in NFL circles."

"I've talked to several scouts who said like, 'He didn't look very motivated two years ago. I know he had some numbers that we're talking about but he looked pretty cooked and looked like he had no interest in taking hits in the pocket. We're now talking about two years later he's ready to suit up?'" Fowler said.

This comes after Brady said on the Deep Cut podcast (via ESPN's Mike Reiss) he was "not opposed" to the idea of suiting up again in the event a team was scrambling for a quarterback midseason.

Every so often it comes out that an NFL coach or general manager pondered bringing a famous QB out of retirement to address a desperate situation, one often caused by injuries.

San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan once confirmed the Niners may have turned to Philip Rivers if they had advanced to Super Bowl LVII. The Washington Commanders reportedly weighed in 2022 whether Andrew Luck was an attainable target.

Not to mention, Brady has already ended one retirement.

But his playing window has probably closed for good for a number of reasons. It's hard to envision a team seriously considering signing a 47-year-old quarterback in the middle of the regular season, when he will have lacked the usual preseason run-up.

As Fowler's report alluded to, Brady didn't play all that well when he was last on an NFL field, either. His 6.5 adjusted yards per attempt were his fewest since 2022 and his 54.6 QBR was his lowest ever, per Pro Football Reference.

The surefire Hall of Famer successfully fended off Father Time much longer than anybody expected, but even he couldn't be immune from the aging curve forever.