BUCS BRING BACK TOM BRADY AND RYAN JENSEN, MARPET NOT UN-RETIRING
Tom Brady will be back playing in the NFL after he announced his unretirement on Sunday night. The 44-year-old stunned the world when he broke the news on Twitter, confirming that he’ll be back for a third season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and his 23rd in the NFL just 40 days after he announced his retirement in an equally shocking fashion.
Brady said, “These past two months, I’ve realized my place is still on the field and not in the stands. That time will come. But it’s not now. I love my teammates, and I love my supportive family. They make it all possible. I’m coming back for my 23rd season in Tampa. Unfinished business. Let’s go!”
Brady confirmed the decision to return to football only 6 weeks after announcing his retirement. It’s understood that Brady was thinking about possibly coming back and that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were keeping the door open for his return. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Bucs had not made an offer for Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson or gotten a replacement ready for Brady’s vacant quarterback position. They had done homework on other quarterbacks including Russell Wilson before he was traded to Denver by the Seattle Seahawks but that didn’t materialize.
The Bucs wanted this decision before free agency and it would make sense as the 2020 Super Bowl champions will look to revamp a much-changed roster this offseason. Free agency is key for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and spending money in other places would have complicated Tom Brady’s return. The team would also want Brady’s input and influence in player acquisitions. Brady’s influence across the league is undeniable and he helped recruit Antonio Brown, Rob Gronkowski, and Leonard Fournette who were key pieces in the Bucs’ 2020 Super Bowl-winning campaign.
Buccaneers’ general manager Jason Licht said in a statement: “We are thrilled that Tom has decided to come back this season. We said we would leave all options open for him should he reconsider his retirement and today’s announcement is something we have been preparing for in recent days. Bruce and I have had plenty of conversations with Tom recently that led us to believe there was a realistic chance he would want to come back. Tom is the greatest quarterback of all time who is still playing at an elite level. With this decision now made, we will continue to move forward with our offseason plans to reload this roster for another championship run.”
“Tom Brady loves to play football as much as anyone I have ever been around,” said Bucs head coach Bruce Arians. “As Tom said, his place right now is on the football field. He is still playing at a championship level and was as productive as anyone in the league last season. We are ecstatic that he decided to continue playing and working toward winning another championship.”
Brady was a guest of the Glazer family on Saturday in Manchester and watched in the stands as Manchester United beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 at Old Trafford.
With fans claiming that part of his decision to come back was inspired by Manchester United’s 37-year-old star man Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored a hat trick to hand his side the win, it’s still difficult to wrap your head around the fact that Brady will be 45 years old when he starts his first game of the season in September, making him the oldest quarterback to start a game in NFL history.
A few hours after the Bucs confirmed that Brady would be returning to play for them, they brought back center Ryan Jensen. His agent, Mike McCartney, confirmed on Twitter that the former Baltimore Ravens O-lineman had agreed on a 3-year deal with Tampa Bay.
Jensen also took to Twitter to confirm his return.
Jensen’s deal is worth $39 million over 3 years according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Bucs Pro Bowl guard, Ali Marpet, who announced his retirement two weeks ago at just 28 years old will, however, not be returning to the Bucs as per WDAE’s Tom Krasniqi. According to Tom Krasniqi, Marpet said in a text, “I am not unretiring. I’m excited for the Bucs. They are going be a blast to watch haha.” Marpet may change his mind in the future but for the moment he remains retired.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero