Unexpected Tom Brady retirement twist looming as speculation mounts of NFL career reboot

There may yet be another twist in the tail of the Tom Brady retirement saga, with several sources still not ready to believe we've seen the last of the 44-year-old quarterback.

A couple of weeks ago when Brady's long farewell message mainly focused on the Buccaneers and barely mentioned the New England Patriots, with whom he played for two decades, there was speculation by some that he would return to Massachusetts for one last ride.

But while that was pie in the sky fantasy stuff at the time, more and more noise is being made that his retirement may not be final.

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Just a week after he announced he was hanging up the cleats, he refused to rule out the option of coming back.

"You never say never," he said on his podcast.

"At the same time I know that I'm very, I feel very good about my decision. I don't know how I'll feel six months from now."

A report from NFL insiders Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport just hours before the Super Bowl said that the Buccaneers themselves weren't certain that Brady was gone for good.

There are still plenty of well-connected people in the league who don't think Brady is finished.

"I've talked to a couple of people who were with Brady in Foxboro, know him very well, and they said 'I don't believe for a second that he's done'," NFL reporter Tom Giardi said yesterday.

He also said that the retirement leaks that pre-empted Brady's announcement could have played a part.

"A lot of people feel like he was almost forced in that direction, and doesn't want to go in that direction just yet."

A Patriots return does seem far-fetched given the less than acrimonious ending of his time there, as well as the fact that rookie quarterback Mac Jones looked promising in his first season.

But Brady's home town team, the San Francisco 49ers, make a lot more sense.

They will be moving on from Jimmy Garoppolo, and although they drafted Trey Lance last year, the 21-year-old has plenty of years ahead of him and could afford to sit behind the GOAT for a season or two.

Earlier today, The Athletic quoted an anonymous NFL coach who said that Brady was 'more athletic now' than Matt Ryan was when he won the MVP award under offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan with Atlanta in 2016.

Shanahan, of course, is now the head coach in San Francisco.

If Brady does retire, he'll be one of the few all-time greats that people say didn't go on a season too long - but given people have been predicting his decline for almost a decade, there's no reason to assume that should he return for another year that he wouldn't provide a huge boost to whichever team picks him up.

Brady is currently the all-time passing yards leader with 84,520, and touchdown leader with 624 - to go with his seven Super Bowl rings.

He was 243-73 in his career in the regular season and 35-12 in the playoffs.

A look at the highs, lows and controversies of NFL GOAT, Tom Brady

A look at the highs, lows and controversies of NFL GOAT, Tom Brady