Brady Gets Unwanted First Amid Talk of Retirement

Let the Tom Brady speculation commence. The all-everything QB will not repeat as Super Bowl champion after his Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost to the Rams on Sunday. The question is, will the 44-year-old return at all next year? "I haven't put a lot of thought into it, so we'll just take it day by day and kind of see where we're at," Brady said after the game, per Sporting News. "Truthfully, guys, I'm thinking about this game and not thinking about anything past five minutes from now." Even before the game, multiple sites—including CBS Sports—were reporting that the Bucs were bracing for the possibility of their star's retirement.

ESPN, quoting anonymous sources, says Brady is indeed undecided and will take at least a month to assess how he feels (mentally and physically) about another season. Fox Sports rounds up Brady's previous comments on the subject, including his view that, physically, he thinks he could play past age 50. One odd footnote to Sunday's game: Brady received the first unsportsmanlike conduct penalty of his long career, for arguing with a ref about a roughing-the-passer call he thought should have been made. Afterward, the ref said Brady "got in my face" and used "abusive language," per NFL.com. (The epic Bills-Chiefs game has critics calling for a rule change.)