Tom Brady may have played his last game of the season, but it doesn’t feel like the last of his career

TAMPA, FL — After throwing 66 passes and mostly being knocked out of the playoffs for the 2022 season by… Dallas CowboysAnd Tom Brady He stood on the platform, explaining what went wrong.

Brady said after 31-14 drilled by the Cowboys.

He dodged questions about his future, and then retreated back to hackerThe locker room, through the bowels of Raymond James Stadium, and eventually to a black Tesla where, in the company of a videographer, he drove away for… what?

What’s next for Tom Brady will be the first question of the season.

Did it end in Tampa? Will there be an opportunity elsewhere, perhaps in Las Vegas, Miami or Tennessee? Is it time to move on broadcast booth?

His behavior after Monday night’s debacle didn’t bode well for a 23-year-old veteran who knows he’s just played his last game. He smiled as he spoke with the backup QB Blaine Gappert While changing into street clothes, he gave a quick pat on the back to his offensive sheetmen as they sat in front of their lockers, telling more than a few Bucs players and reps, “See you tomorrow.”

It was light, perhaps light-hearted about this season finally coming to an end, but it was mostly unemotional.

Is this — 35 of 66, two touchdowns, one interception, a mostly forgettable performance — how Tom Freaking Brady will come out?

If there’s one thing the 45-year-old Brady suffered a blow Monday night, it’s that his game has been largely reduced to dunks and dunks. There is very little pulling the ball down. Instead, it’s a variety of swinging passes, shallow crossings and trying to get rid of the ball before it’s drilled.

His average of 9.6 yards per completion is the lowest of his career and second lowest in the NFL this season behind only Kyler Murray. What that translated to was defenses not worried about Brady going over the top, instead tightening the pressure and creating tight windows for even the easy throw.

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Does this exactly sound like what las vegas can use to get the ball Davant Adamsor whatever Miami needs Terek Hill?

Yet even at age 45, in a season with the worst record of his 23-year career, he managed to throw and complete more passes than any other player in the league—more than he had ever done. season.

How do you square up between the two?

This isn’t OJ Simpson limping to the finish line in a Niners outfit, or Willie Mays playing string like the New York Met. Brady was a year removed from leading the league in passing yards and touchdowns and almost won his fourth MVP award.

the Just Because his future is in question because of his age. And here we are.

Brady’s entire career has been highlighted by proving people wrong, from his first Super Bowl win over the mighty Rams to seventh over the Indomitable Chiefs…and everywhere in between. Counting him even as calendars continue to flip beyond historical comparison to any other quarterback in NFL history has become so risky, most of us have stopped doing it.

When asked what was coming, he said, “I’ll go home and have a good night’s sleep.”

Does the end of this year look different from last year?

“I feel like we’re at the end of the season,” he said.

And so he was gone.