Tom Brady doesn’t plan to retire, but he also admits he doesn’t know what’s next.
Before the final seconds even had come off the clock on the Patriots’ 20-13 wild-card loss to the Titans, Brady’s future became subject of speculation. He is scheduled to become a free agent in March and has said he hopes to continue playing until he’s 45.
Brady, 42, reiterated Saturday night that he does not plan to retire.
“I would say it’s pretty unlikely,” Brady said, via Mike Reiss of ESPN, before adding, “hopefully unlikely.”
Brady’s 2019 season did not end with his lifting another Lombardi Trophy but with a pick-six. He finished 20-of-37 for 209 yards with the interception former teammate Logan Ryan returned 9 yards for a touchdown with nine seconds left.
Fans chanted Brady’s name several times during the game, and at least one sign at the stadium implored his return to the Patriots in 2020.
“I personally appreciate everything they’ve contributed, not just this year but a lot of years,” Brady said of the fans. “Just very grateful for the experience playing this year for the team, this organization, and over the course of my career, too. I appreciate it. I hope I’ve always tried to do the right thing out there.
“Who knows what the future holds? So I’ll leave it at that.”
Brady started his 41st postseason game Saturday night. He has six Super Bowl rings and four Super Bowl MVP awards.
He already has earned title of Greatest Of All Time.
But Brady wants more -- more years, more passes, more touchdowns, more playoff starts, more Super Bowl rings. The question is whether he gets a chance to do that in New England or whether he goes elsewhere to finish his career.
“I love the Patriots,” Brady said. “They obviously, they’ve got. . . It’s the greatest organization and playing for Mr. [Robert] Kraft all these years and for coach [Bill] Belichick. There’s nobody whose had a better career, I would say, than me being with them. So I’m very blessed. I don’t know what the future looks like, so I’m not going to predict it. I wish we would have won tonight. I wish we would have done a lot of things better over the course of the season. We just didn’t get the job done.”