Tom Brady Says 'Bitter Ending' to Last NFL Season Sparked His Retirement Reversal

Tom Brady said he wants to give the Tampa Bay Buccaneers another opportunity to "accomplish something that we'd all be very proud of" after last season's playoff loss

Tom Brady. Photo: Mike Ehrmann/Getty

Tom Brady is back to handle some unfinished business.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback, 44 recently gave more insight on why he announced his retirement on Feb. 1, only to reverse that decision just 40 days later on March 13.

"I knew my body, physically, could still do what it could do and obviously I have a love for the game, I think I'll always have a love for the game," he told ESPN. "I do think physically I'll be able to do it. I just felt like there was still a place for me on the field."

Though he still feels he belongs in the league, Brady admitted that he wanted to return after not having an ideal end to his career, referring to the Buccaneers' 30-27 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the playoffs back in January.

"At the end of the day, I just love the competition on the field," Brady explained. "And last year was a very bitter ending to a season and we've got to make a lot of corrections to try to improve and put ourselves in a better position to succeed moving forward."

Tom Brady. Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty

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"I know I don't have a lot left, I really do. I know I'm at the end of my career," he continued. "I wish you could go forever, but it's just not and football comes at too high of a cost now. My kids are getting older and it's just getting harder and harder to miss these things. But, I wanted to give myself and my teammates and our organization another incredible opportunity to accomplish something that we'd all be very proud of."

Last month, Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Clyde Christensen revealed that Brady came back from his brief retirement with a plan for how the team can win another Super Bowl.

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In an interview with the Tampa Bay Times, the 66-year-old explained that Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl champ, returned to the team with a "list" of how they could improve heading into next season.

"It felt like the morning after we had just lost to the Rams," Christensen told the Times. "He had a list. He said, 'Here's how we can be better.' "

"The first thing [Brady] said was he didn't want to go out that way," he said. "He wanted to make sure we do everything to win it all next year."

Christensen added that he expects Brady will perform just as well as last season.

"I think he will play really, really well again and a lot of it will depend on who is in the surrounding cast," he told the outlet. "There's still a lot of holes. You've got to fill those darn holes. We've got to find a receiver or two. We weren't the same when [Chris Godwin] and [Antonio Brown] went down [with injuries]. I think a lot will depend on who is the surrounding cast and what changes are made. Everyone knows we've got to run the ball better."

Brady and the Bucs still have five months to prepare for their next run together — the first regular-season game of 2022 is scheduled for Sept. 8.