Well, Tom Brady got us again.

Coming from a New York standpoint, Brady is a common enemy. For Jets fans, he is a terrorizer that will never let the franchise sleep. For Giants supporters, Brady was the loser in the franchise’s last two Super Bowl championships. 

Less than two months ago, the 44-year-old quarterback announced his retirement from football. On Sunday, he announced that he will, in fact, be playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2022-23. 

Players come out of retirement all the time. Another legendary quarterback, Brett Favre, did the same over a decade ago to join the Minnesota Vikings. One of the few all-time athletes with more popularity than Brady is Michael Jordan. He retired to play baseball, which led to the film Space Jam. He returned to basketball after a year in minor league baseball. 

But for this to happen so quickly is a shock. Brady didn’t miss anything. There were zero training camps or exhibition games that happened without Brady in the league. Does it really count as a retirement? Well, he made us all happy to see his disappearance. Now that it’s gone, only Bucs fans are pleased; maybe a few Patriots fans to see their old friend back in the league. 

There was no way that the guy with seven Super Bowl rings would go out with a Conference Championship loss, as the Bucs fell to the Rams this year. Looking at the NFC South, Tampa Bay’s division, you could see why Brady felt inclined to return. The competition is incredibly weak. The Panthers, Falcons, and Saints all missed the playoffs last season, and looking at the current quarterback situations for all of them, there doesn’t seem to be a great chance at one of them making a huge leap forward. 

Of course, Buccaneers fans have to be stoked. This news came along with the fact that Brady’s favorite offensive lineman, center Ryan Jensen, is also returning instead of leaving in free agency. His longtime target, Rob Gronkowski, is now a lot more likely to join the fold. Football just got a lot more interesting for the 2021 Super Bowl champions.