Tom Brady Announces Return from Retirement
After a 40-day retirement away from the NFL after a legendary 22 seasons, the universally named greatest quarterback of all time is back for more football.
Tom Brady announced on his Twitter on Sunday that he’ll be returning for his third season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and his 23rd season overall. Both parties are expected to work on a new contract, with Brady expected to make $10.4 million next season.
So far with the Buccaneers, Brady has won a Super Bowl in 2020 and reached the Divisional Round last season. The team came back from down 27-3 to the Los Angeles Rams, but lost on a last-second field goal from Matt Gay to lose 30-27.
Individually, at age 44, Brady is coming off a season where he was second for the 2021 NFL MVP award with 10 first-place votes. He led the NFL in completions (485), attempts (719), passing yards (5,316) and touchdowns (43), while leading the first-ranked Buccaneers offense in points scored (29.3).
Brady returns to a team that is $3 million under the salary cap, and 25 players are currently free agents, including running back Leonard Fournette, tight end Rob Gronkowski and tight end OJ Howard. Guard Ali Marpet has also retired after seven seasons.
The team lost guard Alex Cappa, as he signed a four-year, $40 million contract with the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday.
Grownkowski is currently contemplating his NFL future on whether to retire or play another season. It’s doubtful he would leave the Buccaneers with Brady returning, but he reportedly gave praise about Joe Burrow before the Super Bowl. With tight end CJ Uzomah signing with the New York Jets, the Bengals could make a push for Gronkowski.
The good news for the Buccaneers is after the Brady announcement, the team was able to re-sign center Ryan Jensen to a three-year, $39 million contract. The Bucs were also able to retain wide receiver Chris Godwin on a $19.18 million franchise tag.
Godwin suffered a torn ACL on Dec. 19 against the New Orleans Saints. The timetable for a torn ACL is 6-9 months, which means he could be back by the start of the 2022 regular season barring any setbacks. Godwin is coming off a team-leading 98 receptions and 1,103 receiving yards in 2021.
Along with Godwin, Mike Evans, Scotty Miller, Tyler Johnson and Cameron Brate remain as Brady’s weapons for the time being. With Brady back, the chances of Fournette and Gronkowski, at least, should go up.
Notable defensive free agents in defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, safety Jordan Whitehead, outside linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul and cornerback Carlton Davis all need to be re-signed. On Saturday, defensive tackle Vita Vea and the Buccaneers restructured his contract, creating $7.64 million in cap space.
After what was looking like a rebuilding season upcoming for the Buccaneers, they have their solution at quarterback with the return of Brady. It automatically makes the team a Super Bowl contender. The team will now have to figure out how to retain the same core to get back to the Super Bowl.
Timothy Lonas is a third-year majoring in digital/print journalism. To contact him, email tpl5336@psu.edu.
