Jan 4, 2020; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) talks with the media after a loss to the Tennessee Titans at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
January 5, 2020
(Reuters) – Tom Brady said he was “unlikely” to retire following New England’s defeat by the Tennessee Titans in a National Football League wild card playoff game on Saturday.
The 42-year-old quarterback, winner of six Super Bowls with the Patriots, is a free agent and speculation has been rife as to whether he will play next year and, if so, where.
Brady did not want to get drawn too much into speculation, but when pressed repeatedly at a post-game press conference offered at least a clue as to his future.
“I would say it’s pretty unlikely,” he said of the possibility of retiring.
“I don’t want to get too much into the future. I don’t know what’s going to happen. No one needs to make choices at this point. I love playing football, love playing for this team. I don’t know what it looks like moving forward.”
If it turns out to have been Brady’s final game for the Patriots, it could hardly have ended in a worse way, as his final pass was intercepted by former team mate Logan Ryan for a victory-clinching Titans touchdown.
As Tennessee players celebrated wildly, Brady strode glumly off the field amid near-silence as shocked New England fans contemplated perhaps the almost unthinkable end of a dynasty.
Asked whether this 20-13 defeat particularly hurt considering his age, Brady philosophized.
“We’re all running out of time and chances every year that go by. I don’t think I’m the only one in that category.”
(Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; Editing by Kim Coghill)
