Tom Brady said on his podcast that he’s “still going through the process” and hasn’t decided when to announce his plans on whether to play or retire.
“Sometimes it takes some time to really evaluate how you feel and what you want to do,” Brady said on the latest episode of his “Let’s Go!” podcast with Larry Fitzgerald and Jim Gray, released Monday. “I think when the time’s right I’ll be ready to make a decision one way or another, just like I said last week.”
Asked if he has a timeline, Brady said: “I don’t know. I’ll know when the time is right. Like I’ve always said, I’m very blessed to play as long as I have. As things have gone on in the later parts of my career … there’s a lot of interest in when I’m going to stop playing. I understand that. When I know, I’ll know. When I don’t know, I don’t know. I’m not going to race to some conclusion about that.”
ESPN, citing sources, reported Saturday that Brady would retire from the NFL. The sources told ESPN that Brady knew the NFC divisional game against the Los Angeles Rams would likely be his last, and that he’d spent time after the game preparing for an announcement. ESPN also reported that it was unknown when Brady would formalize his plans to retire, but that he would not do it to upstage the NFL’s postseason games, including the Super Bowl.
Don Yee, his agent, said in a statement Saturday sent out to media members that “I understand the advance speculation about Tom’s future. Without getting into the accuracy or inaccuracy of what’s being reported, Tom will be the only person to express his plans with complete accuracy. He knows the realities of the football business and planning calendar as well as anybody, so that should be soon.”
ESPN also reported that Buccaneers executives and coaches have been bracing for Brady to retire.
Also on the “Let’s Go!” podcast, Brady was asked if he was surprised about reports and said: “It’s always a good line that I’m responsible for what I say and do, and not responsible for what others say or do. I think one thing I’ve learned about sports is that you control what you can control, and what you can’t, you leave to others. We’re in such an era of information and people want to be in front of the news often and I totally understand that. I understand that’s the environment we’re in. But I think for me, it’s literally day to day with me. I’m just trying to do the best I can every day, evaluate things as they come, and I’m trying to make a great decision for me and my family.”
Asked if he felt anything overstepped bounds, he added: “No … It’s not for me to control those things. There were some very important games going on the weekend, and I know how hard those players work to prepare for that. I was actually a little bit disappointed that would … play some part of what’s going on in NFL football, which to me has been such an amazing sport. The focus should be on those great games. I was trying to enjoy a nice weekend. It didn’t quite turn out that way because my phone got really busy, but that’s just part of being in the situation I’m in.”
Brady said he’s enjoying “decompressing” after the season, although he wishes he was still playing.