Jerod Mayo Doubts Tom Brady Will Play for Patriots; Open to NFL Icon Being a Coach

New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo was unsure of franchise icon Tom Brady returning to the team as a player in 2024, although he welcomed the idea of Brady coming back as a member of the team's staff.

"I love Tom, and the door is always open if he wants to come in here and coach," Mayo said on Monday during WEEI's The Greg Hill Show (h/t Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk). "But as far as going on the field, I don't know. But if he comes in here, once again, going back to the 'hey, the best player will play,' you've gotta come in here in compete, and he loves competition. I doubt he's gonna be walking through these doors any time soon."

During an April 11 appearance on the DeepCut podcast, the NFL's all-time passing yards leader discussed the possibility of returning to the league in the middle of the season after an injury to a team's starting quarterback.

"I'm not opposed to it," Brady said (h/t ESPN's Mike Reiss). "I don't know if they are going to let me if I become an owner of an NFL team. I'm always going to be in good shape. I'll always be able to throw the ball. So, to come in for a little bit, like MJ [Michael Jordan] coming back, I don't know if they would let me. But I wouldn't be opposed to it."

While Brady hasn't appeared in an NFL game since the 2022 season, a return to the field would be difficult for many other reasons. The 46-year-old is still attempting to become part of the ownership group for the Las Vegas Raiders and is also set to begin a broadcasting job with Fox Sports in 2024.

Brady spent the majority of his legendary career in New England, making 283 starts for the Patriots from 2000 until the end of the 2019 season. He earned three MVP awards and six Super Bowl victories with the organization, while his 541 touchdown passes are enough to easily rank No. 1 on the franchise's all-time list.

It doesn't appear that the door is completely shut on a return, although it seems unlikely.