Tom Brady has retired from pro football for a second time after the disappointment of not making it to the Super Bowl and winning an eighth ring.
Anyone who saw the quarterback play this season could have told him another appearance on the grandest stage wasn’t unlikely. However, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers snuck into the playoffs with a losing record, the first of Brady’s career.
It was clear that the 45-year-old wasn’t up to his usual tricks and many attributed it to age. But, according to Bruce Arians, the reason goes a lot deeper.
Arians, who won a Super Bowl as Brady’s head coach in 2021 before transitioning to an executive role with the team last year, was on the Rich Eisen Show this week.
The former HC admitted that the Tom Brady we saw last season wasn’t “the Real Tom Brady.”
“Tom wasn’t himself, you know, with all the things that were going on,” Arians explained (H/T ProFootballTalk). “And I got to give him all the credit in the world for battling through what he went through last year for his teammates. I think the world of him but it wasn’t the real Tom Brady out there.”
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Arians also pointed to the injuries to Ryan Jensen and Shaquille Barrett
“The injuries to our leaders was really, really hard,” he lamented.
Bruce Arians On Whether Brady Will Stay Retired
Of course, the 70-year-old was asked whether Brady is actually retired this time.
“I definitely think so,” he replied.”He’s spent a lot of time with his kids and just heading to the next chapter. He’s got so many things going on, you know, he’s one busy dude.”
Brady is now set for a top analytical role on television, having signed a lucrative 10-year deal with FOX. But reports note he plans to spend the year with his family before heading to the network in 2024.
