If Tom Brady wants to come back to New England and officially retire as a member of the team that drafted him, the Patriots would surely want to do that.
If and when Brady is ready to be honored by the team with which he spent the vast majority of his career, the red carpet will be unfurled. No question.
The question is, though, would Brady want that?
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It's hard not to see Brady's retirement announcement Tuesday and not feel as though his former club was intentionally omitted. It's a lengthy piece that thanks everyone from his family to the key characters in the Buccaneers organization to his agents and body coach Alex Guerrero. In closing, Brady expresses excitement for what lies ahead with his TB12, NFT and athleisure business ventures.
No mention of the Patriots. No mention of Robert Kraft or Bill Belichick. And to add insult to injury for New Englanders wondering why, the image accompanying Brady's statement features No. 12 in a Bucs jersey during his win over the Patriots at Gillette Stadium back in October.
New England Patriots
The optics, if you will, aren't great.
Brady may not be the most PR savvy athlete to ever walk the planet. What happened over the weekend with ESPN leaking his intentions is the most recent example of that. But he couldn't be so obtuse as to claim he simply forgot the Patriots on the day he called it quits, right?
Three hours after releasing his initial statement, he posted on Twitter and Instagram an acknowledgement of the Patriots and their fans, saying that he was "beyond grateful."
Reading and reacting, even in retirement.
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But now folks are left to wonder whether or not he'll be a Patriot one more time and then, finally, duck-boat his way off into the sunset.
Brady has said many times just how much he appreciates the fans, the organization, Belichick, Robert Kraft and the Kraft family. He did it when it was clear he wouldn't be continuing his career in Foxboro back in 2020. He did it again in the fall, after beating the Patriots. How he feels about this team and community is well-documented.
But whether or not he wants to be back in any kind of official capacity, even if just for symbolic purposes, remains to be seen. On a day that should be spent celebrating the greatest career in NFL history, fans of his are emotional. People have questions. And they will make their way to Brady at some point along the line.
So, Tom, any thought spent on coming back and ending things as a Patriot? Being enshrined in the team's Hall of Fame early?
Those things would have to be done on his terms, and Tuesday's statement leaves where he stands open to some interpretation.