Bruce Arians: Tom Brady will return to Bucs next season

Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians would be “shocked” if Tom Brady decided to retire instead of returning to Tampa Bay for the 2022 season.

The Buccaneers are looking to add a second Super Bowl victory to their tally in the Tom Brady era but the possibility of the quarterback hanging up his cleats regardless of how this season ends is going to remain all the while.

There’s no telling when Brady will make a decision on his football future. Still, Tampa Bay fans can cling to the words of their head coach on that front.

He thinks Brady has plenty of enthusiasm for the game left.

Bruce Arians expects Tom Brady back with the Bucs

“The way he was at practice, I would be shocked if he didn’t [play next year],” Arians said, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “You know they have that Friday quarterback challenge, and he came flying out of the locker room, sprinting two or three fields away and couldn’t wait to get into the challenge. He was like a little kid. I would be shocked.”

Exuberance during the playoffs isn’t necessarily the best measure of a player’s willingness to come back for another season.

Brady is currently 44 years old and he will turn 45 before the start of next season. He’s won literally everything there is to win. If Tampa Bay makes it to the pinnacle again this season, he could retire on top. Or he could come back for more because he obviously still has the capability to win.

And if the Bucs lose in the playoffs, Brady could see it as a sign that it is time. Or he could use it as motivation to come back stronger next year.

The only person who knows for sure which way Brady is leaning is the quarterback himself.