Report: Tempers flared between Tom Brady and Bruce Arians during QB's final season with Buccaneers

Tom Brady retired from the NFL at the age of 44 in a move that surprised everyone around the NFL. Brady had previously stated a desire to play football at 45 and was as physically gifted at 44 as he was at 24. As far as we knew, he left the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on good terms.

However, there was more going on behind the scenes than initially thought. Former NFL player and current sports analyst Rich Ohrnberger tweeted Friday that Bruce Arians caused tension between himself, Brady, and offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich.

According to Ohrnberger, while Arians was under rehabilitation for his torn Achilles, Brady and Leftwich came up with a weekly offensive game plan. Arians would change a lot of their ideas later, which caused tension.

"Apparently, while Arians was rehabbing the achilles in the early mornings, offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich and Brady would work on the week's game plan. Arians would later come in and take the red pen to work they'd done. The QB and OC felt undermined, there was tension," Ohrnberger wrote on Twitter.

Ohrnberger added that Tom Brady didn't retire as a result of the tension. However, there was no doubt the relationship began souring due to Arians writing over Brady's designed gameplan.

"Heard some interesting things recently... The Tom Brady & Bruce Arians honeymoon was over in Tampa. The retirement announcement wasn't because of the trouble seeing eye to eye on the offensive game planning, but the relationship was souring," Ohrnberger wrote.

Rumors have circulated since Brady's retirement that his goodbye may not be permanent. Many believe Tom Brady is simply trying to work his way to another team by retiring. The question now becomes, did Brady retire out of merit? Or did the Buccaneers apply added pressure and possibly made him step away prematurely?

Could Tom Brady come out of retirement to play for someone else?

New England Patriots v San Francisco 49ers

Should Tom Brady come out of retirement, there will be no shortage of suitors to trade for him. One team that's been most connected to the five-time Super Bowl MVP is the San Fransisco 49ers.

The 49ers are entering an offseason of change at quarterback and will likely trade Jimmy Garoppolo. Brady grew up as a fan of the 49ers and was gossiped to be heavily interested in playing for them during his 2020 free agency period.

Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio has as good a read on Tom Brady as anyone in the NFL. Florio is of firm belief with many, including Stephen A. Smith, that Brady is positioning himself to be the 49ers quarterback in Week 1.

"I'm telling you, it's unavoidable. He's not gonna lower himself to have to dirty himself the way Aaron Rodgers is. He's gonna work it all behind the scenes. I just... I think he's gonna be with the 49ers Week 1 [of the 2022 season]," Florio said on Thursday's PFT Live.

Whether that potential outcome happens remains unknown. But the latest report that Brady and Arians had tension in Tampa Bay is eye-opening.

Not many have the competitive spirit Brady has, and he could relish the opportunity to have more control in running his offense one last time under the right circumstances.