Tom Brady suffered the fourth one-and-done playoff appearance in his career Monday, a 31-14 loss to the Cowboys in which he threw the ball 66 times at 45 years old.
Despite his frustration in the middle of the game, Brady allowed himself to engage in some pomp and circumstance after it was over. He tipped his cap to the crowd and kissed his parents on his way off the field, piling onto the already-sizable heap of questions about his future.
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Brady has been linked to multiple teams after this year, including the Raiders, and after his brief retirement tryst last year whether he’ll return at all will be a perennial question.
Tom Brady tips his cap to Bucs fans as he jogs off the field 👋 pic.twitter.com/pSqCW5xzUD
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 17, 2023
After the game, Brady made it abundantly clear he wouldn’t be talking about his future. He just wanted to unwind.
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“I’m going to go home, get a good night’s sleep — as good as I can tonight,” he told reporters. “No, I’m not — you know what? This has been a lot of focus on this game. So it’s one (day) at a time. Truly.”
Brady also downplayed a question about whether he thought he had had a bad season.
“We lost tonight, it’s a team sport,” he said. “Never consider individual things like that.”
He added, “It just feels like the end of a season” before thanking reporters at length and exiting the podium.
A Tom Brady goodbye?
Brady ended his news conference by thanking the media, and fans and added he loves the organization. #GoBucs pic.twitter.com/CA24y3fR1b
— Kyle Burger (@kyle_burger) January 17, 2023
That final quote will spawn a new wave of speculation about Brady’s future, but nothing definitive came from his postgame comments. The Buccaneers were manhandled Monday night, which appeared to be Brady’s focus.
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We’ll undoubtedly learn more about Brady’s future plans in the weeks and months to come, but for the time being, all there is is speculation based on his brief commentary after an emotional loss.