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Tom Brady is probably messing with us.
Or maybe he can’t help himself. Nevertheless, Brady continues to throw jet fuel on the embers of his potential return to football in 2022, after he is expected to retire.
Most recently, he mocked the noise caused by comments in front of Fred Couples on Wednesday. Posting on Twitter a partial transcript of his quote (with underlined remarks about sleeping in his crib) to a photo of bunk beds with race cars, Brady said: “Honestly, I thought that would be the leading quote here. REM slept through the roof last night. ”
Brady, asked a very simple question about the future of Couples, offered an answer that did everything, but did not close the door on the opportunity to play again. In fact, the actual words used by Couples make it clear that Couples is asking if Brady will play football this year for a team other than the team that currently holds his rights, the Buccaneers. (Watch the attached video; Couples end the question with the words “Is this legal?”)
Neither Brady nor anyone else can reliably complain about the media talking about the possibility of Brady’s return. Brady himself lit the fuse. And he did nothing to try to blow it up as he approached the bomb.
My guess? He plays. And not for the Buccaneers. I still think he’s targeting the 49ers, the team he grew up in love with – and the team he wanted to play for two years ago. It’s probably no coincidence that he points so clearly to the fact that he recently slept in bed at the house where he grew up, no doubt spending many nights sleeping while wondering if his 49ers would win another Super Bowl.
The last one came when he was 16, long before the world knew who Tom Brady was. He can now end his legendary career by helping the 49ers win their sixth Lombardi trophy, pulling San Francisco into a draw with the Patriots and Steelers and giving Brady his eighth victory in the Super Bowl – with three different teams.