In February, Tom Brady announced his retirement “for good.” It was his second announcement that he was putting up his cleats.
But, at this point, who knows?
After 23 professional seasons, the 46-year-old, seven-time Super Bowl champion is not attending an NFL training camp for the first time since 1999.
Brady, on the other hand, can’t help but miss what used to be his livelihood with the season less than a month away.
Brady took a selfie with his top off in an Instagram story posted Saturday morning, still looking like he could get under center.
“Adverse effects of @tb12sports protein… “When mid-August rolls around, you start thinking about finding a training camp to show up to,” Brady wrote, per the New York Post, with laughing emojis.
Brady has already made people question if he’ll return this season, but he’s convinced he won’t.
During an interview with “SI Now” anchor Robin Lundberg in June, the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback addressed speculation that he would make a comeback.
“I’m certain I’m not playing again,” he remarked, smiling. “I’ve tried to make that clear, and I hate to keep saying it because I’ve already told people many times.”
Meanwhile, his former Buccaneers are attempting to find a replacement for him among Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask, and it hasn’t been a particularly exciting race.
Trask, a 2021 second-round pick out of Florida, has backed up Brady the last two seasons. When Brady announced his “forever” retirement in February, it appeared Trask would be the starter.
However, Tampa Bay signed 2018 first-round pick Baker Mayfield to a one-year contract in March, formally launching a competition.
Trask has only attempted nine passes in his career, all of which occurred in Week 18 of last season. Mayfield started 10 games for the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams last season and has yet to live up to his draft status.