After winning his seventh Super Bowl ring, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady declared that he’s coming back for the second and final year of the $50-million deal that he signed with the team last offseason. The 43-year-old Brady also said that he would consider playing past 45 years old if his body and performance allow him to. For one of his teammates, Buccaneer's veteran rusher LeSean McCoy, Brady can play for five more years based on how he performs.
Brady is looking for more
Buccaneers quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen, for his part, believes that Brady is looking more as he enters his 22nd season in the NFL, per Michael Baca of NFL.com.
During an interview on CBS Sports Radio’s “The Zach Gelb Show", Christensen was asked about Brady’s playing career, to which he replied: "I don't see an end in sight, and he certainly doesn't act like there's an end in sight." According to Christensen, Brady is so confident in his routine to keep himself in top physical form. It has reflected on his excellent performance as he led the Buccaneers to their first Super Bowl title since 2002 in his first year with the team. "He's so confident in his routine, and what he's doing physically, he's going to be around a while,” he stressed. If Brady indeed wants to play beyond his 2021 deal, Buccaneer's general manager Jason Licht and head coach Bruce Arians are both willing to sign the veteran quarterback to a contract extension,
Brady wants to duplicate Manning’s feat
In another story by Jeff Kerr of CBS Sports, Christensen also disclosed why Brady left the New England Patriots, where he won six Super Bowl trophies during his 20-year tenure with the team and signed with the Buccaneers.
According to Christensen, Brady wanted to match Peyton Manning’s record of carrying two franchises to Super Bowl wins. Manning led the Indianapolis Colts to a Super Bowl win during the 2006 season and the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50. During one of his earlier conversations with Brady, Christensen said the veteran quarterback considered Manning’s accomplishment in Denver as “fun and challenging.” "There was something about that challenge that hit (Brady) right,” the coach said.
The Buccaneers hardly looked like a Super Bowl team after entering their bye week with a 7-5 mark. However, Brady carried the Buccaneers to a sweep of their last four regular-season assignments, allowing them to notch the No. 5 seed in the postseason and date with the No. 4 Washington Football Team. After beating the Football Team in the Wild Card Game, the Buccaneers then avenged their two regular-season losses to the New Orleans Saints and repeated over the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship.
The Buccaneer completed their title run with a 31-9 triumph over the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LI, becoming the first team in NFL history to capture the Lombardi Trophy at home.
