Tom Brady to retire in 2023? NFL insiders claim QB "likely" to call it a career at the end of 2022 season

It seems that at this time every season the question of whether Tom Brady will continue to play next season or not pops up. And so it has yet again. After retiring and then unretiring in the space of just 40 days after the season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were thrust back into Super Bowl contention.

Fast forward just a few months and Brady looks a shadow of his former self (some even say washed) and the Buccaneers sit at 6-7 as they lead the NFC South. The year has been as bad as one could hope from Tampa Bay and Brady's point of view, but will the quarterback be playing in 2023?

In a piece for The Athletic written by Mike Jones, several NFL insiders have claimed that it is "likely" that the 45-year-old quarterback will not return to the field in 2023.

We have heard this before, haven't we? But given what has gone on this season with his wife's divorce and his poor season, it appears from the outside at least that all the juice has been squeezed out of the lemon.

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Could Brady finally retire from the NFL?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady

This is probably something that has popped up every offseason for the last decade, but one way or another, the seven-time Super Bowl champ returns for another season.

But this time it feels different.

Before this season, the quarterback was still playing at a high level and had a realistic shot at a Super Bowl. Throughout this year, neither has been right. This is what has led many NFL insiders to think the 2022 season will be his last.

Brady, in his 23rd season (and third in Tampa), is 381-for-579 (65.8%) for 3,585 yards, 17 touchdowns and five interceptions. He's thrown for 88,105 yards and 641 touchdowns in his career. Both are NFL records. The former Michigan Wolverines quarterback has also started an NFL record 47 playoff games.

With his divorce from Gisele Bundchen and his football seemingly declining, it could be the right time for the 45-year-old to hang up the cleats.

Whether he does it or not is another thing entirely, as rumors have swirled of a return to the New England Patriots and even a stint with the San Francisco 49ers. But at 45 and having nothing left to prove, we may finally see Tom Brady ride off into the sunset.