Tom Brady #12 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers leaves the field after losing to the Dallas Cowboys 31-14 in the NFC Wild Card knockout game at Raymond James Stadium on January 16, 2023 in Tampa, Florida. Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images/AFP
Tom Brady, his voice hoarse, thanked the Tampa Bay organization and the media Monday night after the Buccaneers ended the season with a 31-14 defeat to the Dallas Cowboys in an NFC knockout game.
However, the 45-year-old midfielder did not specify whether he plans to return to the Buccaneers, seek another NFL destination or retire.
“I love this organization, it’s a great place,” Brady said at the end of the press conference.
Before that, he said of the next steps in his decision-making process, “I’m going home and getting a good night’s sleep, at least as good as I can tonight. … There has been a lot of focus on this game. It will be one day at a time. Really.”
Brady announced his retirement last February, then changed his mind 40 days later and decided to return for his 23rd NFL season.
Whenever he finally decides to leave, Brady will end one of the most honored NFL careers of all time. Among his all-time records: most Super Bowl championships (seven), most regular-season wins by a quarterback (251), most post-season wins by a single coin defenders (35), most passes completed (7,753), most passes (12,050) , most passes (89,214) and most touches (649).
He’s been the NFL’s Most Valuable Player three times and was voted Pro Bowl 15 times.
Brady spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots, then joined the Buccaneers ahead of the 2020 season and led them to a Super Bowl championship in his first campaign.
In 2021, he led the NFL in passing yards (5,316) and touchdowns (43) before those numbers dropped to 4,694 and 25 respectively in 2022 as the Buccaneers won 8-9. Tampa Bay made it to the knockout stages as champions of the weak NFC South before being knocked out by Dallas on Monday.
When asked after the game if he considers the season a disappointment, Brady said, “We lost tonight. It’s a team sport so never consider anything personal like that. And obviously we became a team and that’s really all that matters.
“That’s all I really care about is the success of the team — how well we did as a team and how well we performed under pressure and it was clear tonight. not one of our best nights.”
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