As we head into the Divisional Round, there is one question on everyone’s mind: Will Tom Brady retire? The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback is currently playing in his 21st NFL season at the age of 44. Although Brady has made jokes in the past about the desire to play until 50, reports surfaced before the team’s playoff match against the Los Angeles Rams that the legendary QB might be mulling retirement. Will Brady retire after this season, or will he play out the last year of his contract with the Bucs?
Will Tom Brady retire?
According to ESPN, Brady plans to take time after the season ends — a month or longer — to assess how he feels physically and mentally while also gauging his family’s desires before making a decision on whether or not he should retire.
The Buccaneers are coming off of another excellent season where they finished as the No. 2 seed behind the Packers in the NFC. Although they suffered some significant injuries to key contributors like Chris Godwin and Leonard Fournette, Brady still played all 17 regular-season games and put up MVP-caliber numbers.
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How the season ultimately ends for the Buccaneers might be a key factor in what Brady decides to do this offseason. If the team can continue their playoff success and potentially repeat as Super Bowl champions, that might be enough to convince Brady to retire on top.
However, if the team somehow stumbles down the stretch, Brady might want one last shot to come back and potentially win the eighth ring of his career. Now in his 19th postseason, Brady and the Bucs are just two wins away from heading to Los Angeles to compete in Super Bowl LVI.
Brady’s unbelievable playoff numbers
If Brady decides to retire at the age of 44, he will go down as the greatest quarterback in the history of the NFL. As we prepare to watch Brady in the playoffs again this year, let’s take a look back at some of the records he holds in the postseason.
Passing yards
Brady has thrown for a whopping 12,720 passing yards during the postseason. For comparison’s sake, second place belongs to Peyton Manning with 7,339. Brady’s best passing game in the playoffs was back in Super Bowl 52 when the Patriots fell to the Eagles 41-33. Even though it was a loss, Brady still put up 505 passing yards at 40 years old.
Passing touchdowns
With the passing yards record comes the passing touchdowns record. However, this one is even more impressive than the last. Brady currently has 85 playoff touchdowns, which is bound to increase after their game against the Rams. That puts him above Joe Montana and Aaron Rodgers, who are tied with 45.
Wins
If Brady loses and retires after this game against the Rams, he will finish his career with an unbelievable 35 playoff wins. That more than doubles Montana, who is in second place (16). Brady currently has an all-time winning percentage of .761, which tops all quarterbacks with double-digit playoff wins.
