Tom Brady is so gonna come back for at least one more season

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Tom Brady’s offseason began yesterday after Sunday’s loss to the Rams and he started it the way he has started man offseasons in the past, especially lately – hinting at retirement while talking about his family and their needs and how much he loves them and wants to be with there for them.

Brady talked openly with Jim Gray on their “Let’s Go” podcast about how it “pains” his wife, Gisele Bündchen, to see him get hit on the field.

And he talked about his age and his three kids and how much he loves them, saying:

“The biggest difference now that I’m older is I have kids now, too, you know, and I care about them a lot as well. They’ve been my biggest supporters. My wife is my biggest supporter. It pains her to see me get hit out there. And she deserves what she needs from me as a husband, and my kids deserve what they need from me as a dad.

“I’m gonna spend some time with them and give them what they need, ’cause they’ve really been giving me what I need the last six months to do what I love to do. I said this a few years ago, it’s what relationships are all about. It’s not always what I want. It’s what we want as a family. And I’m gonna spend a lot of time with them and figure out in the future what’s next.”

Brady obviously loves his family very much and seems to be a good dad.

But he’s also still a very good quarterback and still obviously loves football very much, too.

For some reason his words last night had everyone thinking retirement is coming next. But as I said at the top, Brady has spoken like this over the past couple years after seasons have come to an end and then in July he’s right there reporting to training camp.

Brady is addicted to football and has been for quite some time. He can also still play football at a very high level, which we saw Sunday when he rallied the beat-up Bucs back from a 27-3 deficit to the Rams before losing on a last-second field goal.

If he returns next year the Bucs will be one of the best teams in the NFC and will have a shot of making it to the Super Bowl again. Brady lives for those opportunities. It’s what drives him every day single day of his life. It’s what he loves to do. It’s who he is.

I just can’t see Brady’s legendary career coming to an end on a Sunday afternoon in January with little fanfare or celebration for the years he’s spent in the NFL and the things he’s done on the field during that time.

My gut says he says he’ll come back for one more year, his career will be celebrated throughout the season, he’ll lead the Bucs deep into the postseason, and then… he’ll think about coming back for another year.

Quick hits: Awesome video of Mahomes and Kelce changing play… Mahomes’ classy moment with Josh Allen… NFL Super Bowl logo looks weird… And more. 

– This video of Patrick Mahomes yelling ‘DO IT!’ at Travis Kelce before the huge play that set up the game-tying field goal at the end of regulation Sunday is so darn cool.

– This video of Mahomes running away from his team’s celebration Sunday night to share a classy moment with Josh Allen is pretty awesome, too.

– The NFL’s Super Bowl 56 logo looks like it’s dripping in blood.

– Somebody put a mask on John Stockton’s statue in Utah and I can’t stop laughing.