Tom Brady #12 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers walks off the field after losing to the Dallas Cowboys 31-14 in the NFC Wild Card playoff game at Raymond James Stadium on January 16, 2023 in Tampa, Florida. Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images/AFP
Tom Brady, his voice cracking, thanked the Tampa Bay organization and the media late Monday night after the Buccaneers had their season end with a 31-14 loss to the visiting Dallas Cowboys in an NFC wild-card playoff game.
However, the 45-year-old quarterback did not state whether he plans to return to the Buccaneers, seek another NFL destination or head into retirement.
“I love this organization, it’s a great place to be,” Brady said as he ended the news conference.
Earlier he said regarding the next steps in his decision-making process, “I’m going to go home and get a good night’s sleep, at least as good as I can tonight. … There has been a lot of focus on this game. It will be one day at a time. Truly.”
Brady announced his retirement last February, then changed his mind 40 days later and decided to return for his 23rd NFL season.
Whenever he finally decides to step away, Brady will conclude one of the most decorated NFL careers of all time. Among his all-time records: most Super Bowl championships (seven), most regular-season wins by a quarterback (251), most postseason wins by a quarterback (35), most passes completed (7,753), most pass attempts (12,050), most passing yards (89,214) and most passing touchdowns (649).
He is a three-time NFL Most Valuable Player and a 15-time Pro Bowl selection.
Brady spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots, then joined the Buccaneers ahead of the 2020 season and led them to a Super Bowl championship in his first campaign.
In 2021, he led the NFL in passing yards (5,316) and passing touchdowns (43) before those numbers fell to 4,694 and 25, respectively, in 2022 as the Buccaneers went 8-9. Tampa Bay made the playoffs as the champion of the weak NFC South before getting hammered by Dallas on Monday.
Asked postgame whether he viewed the season as a disappointment, Brady said, “We lost tonight. It’s a team sport so never considered any individual things like that. And obviously we came up short as a team and that’s really all that matters.
“That’s all I’ve ever really cared about is team success — how well we did as a team and how well we performed under pressure and tonight was obviously not one of our best nights.”