Tom Brady ‘still going through the process,’ has made no decision on playing future

In his first comments since Saturday’s reports that he plans to retire, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady said Monday on the Let’s Go! podcast that he has yet to make a decision on his playing future.

“I’m still going through the process that I said I was going through,” Brady said. “Sometimes it takes some time to really evaluate how you feel, what you want to do and I think when the time is right I’ll be ready to make a decision one way or the other.”

Brady, 44, completed his 22nd NFL season upon the Buccaneers’ loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Divisional Round.

Prior to that defeat, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Brady was undecided on returning for the 2022 season, of which he’s under contract with the Buccaneers. In the aftermath of the loss to the Rams, Brady, on the aforementioned Let’s Go! podcast, spoke candidly in a way rarely seen before in his career, stating that the decision on his playing future wasn’t just about him, but about his wife and children.

Then on Saturday, it was reported Brady, the seven-time Super Bowl winner considered by most as the greatest quarterback of all time, was planning on retiring. The reports were met by Brady’s agent Don Yee stating that, “Tom will be the only person to express his plans with complete accuracy.”

Rapoport reported later on Saturday that Brady had not informed the Buccaneers of his plans, and Tom Brady Sr. told NFL Network’s Mike Giardi on Saturday that his son “has not made a final decision one way or the other.”

As with Yee and Brady Sr.’s statement, Brady’s remarks on Monday’s podcast did not deny he was retiring, but stated that a decision was yet to come.

Let’s Go! co-host Jim Gray asked Brady if he was surprised by the reports.

“It’s always a good line that I’m responsible for what I say and do, and not responsible for what others say or do,” Brady said. “I think one thing I’ve learned about sports is that you control what you can control, and what you can’t, you leave to others. We’re in such an era of information and people want to be in front of the news often and I totally understand that. I understand that’s the environment we’re in. But I think for me, it’s literally day to day with me. I’m just trying to do the best I can every day, evaluate things as they come, and I’m trying to make a great decision for me and my family.”

When asked if the reports of his retirement could potentially kindle a fire to return, Brady downplayed the notion.

“I think my motivation for playing football is to win and be successful and maybe there’s little parts of motivation that comes from different places or what people may say or think, but I’m mostly motivated from inside and wanting to be the best for my teammates and my coaches and my organizations,” Brady said. “That’s kind of where my motivation has been for a long time.”

While Brady, the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yards and touchdowns, underscored that he’s made no decision, he did not set any sort of timeline on when he would announce a conclusion.

“I don’t know. I’ll know when the time is right,” Brady said. “Like I’ve always said, I’m very blessed to play as long as I have. As things have gone on in the later parts of my career, whether that was five years ago or even this year, there’s a lot of interest in when I’m going to stop playing. I understand that. It’s not that I don’t recognize that. When I know, I’ll know. When I don’t know, I don’t know. I’m not going to race to some conclusion about that.”