Tom Brady has been knocked out of the playoffs and is finished with the worst season of his long and storied career. Now, as rumors swirl about the possible retirement of the NFL’s greatest quarterback, many prominent figures in the sport have opinions about what is right for Brady.
One such player who gave Brady advice is Jordan Poyer of the Buffalo Bills. Poyer, who spent the early part of his career being brutalized by the Brady-led offenses of the New England Patriots. On his podcast, The Jordan Poyer Podcast, Poyer gave this take on what his former rival should do next:
"Go be with your kids, Tom"
—@J_poyer21 has a message for @TomBrady pic.twitter.com/UNWmv0F79H
— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) January 18, 2023
“Tom, you know I love you, and I feel like I’ve been riding for you all year. Early on — you can go back to my podcast — I said, ‘You can’t count Tom out.’ … And sure as s—, he made the playoffs. You did everything you could’ve did in this league.”
Poyer pivots and says what many of Brady’s fans are thinking following the public blow-up of his marriage with model Gisele Bündchen at the beginning of the season, saying, “I understand you love this game. Go be with your kids, man.”
“Go be with your kids, Tom. I appreciate everything you’ve done in this league. I got two picks off of you, one to the crib. Lost both games. I’m 0-11 against you. Yes, please go. Go be with your kids, Tom.”
Poyer is making the same argument that many others around the league have made, especially in media rooms across the league. Tom Brady may have lost a step, in such a violent game, it is tough to watch one of the all-time greats struggle through a season on an average team. This was put on full display in the Buccaneer’s playoff loss last week, according to Poyer:
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“I didn’t like watching that game. It was hard to watch. You’re down 27-0 at halftime (it was 18-0). He was defeated. You could see he was defeated. I still think he obviously knows everything about everything, the insides and out of football. But it does take 11 to play the game.”
While it is still unclear whether Brady will return this fall for another season of pro football, it does seem clear to many of his Bucs teammates that the QB will be leaving the team one way or another, according to Pro Football Talk:
One player said, “I’d be surprised if he’s back.” Another said, “He sounded like a person saying goodbye for good.”
That, of course, doesn’t mean Brady is retiring. It’s possible that he’ll sign with another team in free agency and seek an eighth Super Bowl ring a year from now, at the age of 46.
Another Super Bowl ring will be Brady’s primary motivation if he does decide to return, and given the way the aging Buccaneers roster played last season, it’s easy to see why he wouldn’t think Tampa Bay is the best place for him to win another title.