Antoine Winfield Jr. ‘sure’ Buccaneers ‘still reaching out’ to Tom Brady about return

At least one team may be holding out hope for another Tom Brady return. 

Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr. said he’s “sure” Tampa Bay is still pursuing the seven-time Super Bowl champion quarterback.

“I’m sure we’re still reaching out to him, trying to see if he’s trying to come back to the team,” Winfield said during an appearance on the Richard Sherman Podcast. “Hey, it could happen. Anything’s possible.”

Brady, 45, announced he was retiring from football in early February after 23 NFL seasons. 

Despite claiming that, this time, it was “for good,” rumors about another comeback have persisted. 

“There is nothing I love more than football,” Brady said in March. “But I have young children and they watched enough of their dad’s games and it’s time for me to watch their games.”

Brady famously retired in February 2022 and then unretired 40 days later, opting to return to Tampa Bay, which may be why Sherman, who briefly played with the Buccaneers during the 2021 campaign, thinks he could do it again. 

“Look, I don’t put nothing past [Brady],” Sherman said during the episode. “This is a crazy world and he [is] a crazy guy.” 

“It’s up in the air, man,” Winfield replied.

Still, Winfield said, “I don’t really know, to be honest with you,’ and the 24-year-old said that when Brady retired the first time, he “really thought” that the quarterback was finished with football.

But Brady proved last season that he still has what it takes to be a good NFL quarterback despite being in his mid-40s. 

In 17 games, Brady threw for 4,694 yards and 25 touchdowns, leading the Buccaneers to an NFC South title. 

If Brady remains retired as promised, Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask are expected to battle for Tampa Bay’s starting quarterback job in training camp.

Amid the rumors, Brady is staying plenty busy in retirement. 

In late May of this year, the future Hall of Famer agreed to a deal to become a minority of the Las Vegas Raiders. 

During Michael Rubin’s ‘White Party’ in the Hampton on Fourth of July, Brady was seen talking with Kim Kardashian as rumors swirl about a potential relationship between the pair.

Brady also signed a 10-year $375 million broadcasting retirement plan with Fox in May 2022.