Tom Brady is gearing up for his 19th postseason appearance. Will it be his last?
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback looked better than ever in his age-44 season. With league-highs in both touchdown passes (43) and passing yards (5,316), he's in the conversation to win the fourth NFL MVP award of his legendary career.
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SIGN UP HERE Brady is showing no signs of slowing down, but one ESPN writer with a history of covering the former New England Patriots great believes these playoffs will be the last we see of him on a football field.
"This is just a hunch, but I'm predicting that this will be the last playoff run for three future Hall of Fame quarterbacks with their current teams," Seth Wickersham wrote. "We know that the Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger will retire. But I think Tom Brady will, too. And finally, Aaron Rodgers will leave Green Bay after another season without reaching the Super Bowl."
Does the "It's Better To Be Feared" author know something we don't about Brady's future? Probably not.
Brady has adamantly stated, "When I suck, I'll retire." That was more than seven years ago, but he reiterated that mindset ahead of his second playoff run with Tampa Bay.
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“I feel like I want to play as a championship-level player,” Brady said, per The Tampa Bay Times. “That’s what I’ve said for a long time. When I’m not able to do that — I said a long time ago, when I suck I’ll retire — but what I really meant was when I’m not capable of leading the team to victory, then someone else has to do the job."
Given the level Brady is playing at, we shouldn't expect the seven-time Super Bowl champion to hang 'em up any time soon.
Brady will play in his 45th postseason game when the Bucs and Eagles face off in the wild-card round. Kickoff for that matchup is set for 1 p.m. ET. on Sunday.