After Tom Brady initially retired this offseason, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers never turned the light off on the G.O.A.T.'s possible return. Then, 40 days later, TB12 announced he was coming back.
Buccaneers co-owner Joel Glazer told reporters Monday from the NFL's Annual League Meeting in Palm Beach, Florida, that he went through the same gamut of feelings as fans.
"You went through a lot of different emotions," Glazer said, via the Tampa Bay Times. "So, the first stage, where you just kind of felt the finality of the whole thing. But then, as time goes on, you think about it and you realize that there's a lot of emotion involved in a season and it's painful at the end of the season. I know how I feel at the end of a season, so you think about it, and you know how competitive Tom Brady is, that there's always a chance.
"Then he had time to reflect and think about things, and we're just thrilled to have him back."
The presumption was that Brady discussed his return with the Glazers when he attended a Manchester United match -- also owned by the Glazers -- the day before unretiring, but the owner said that wasn't the case.
"It wasn't there (at the match)," he said, "but we knew soon before everybody else."
Brady's return pivoted the Bucs from a potential rebuild, given their slew of free agents, to a reload. Multiple players returned that might have otherwise moved on. Brady directly played a role in several of those moves.
For a team that couldn't find postseason success in the dozen years before Brady arrived, his return is massive for the ownership group to keep the ship in the fast lane.
"Having Tom Brady back is unbelievable," Glazer said. "He's been unbelievable for our franchise, as everyone knows. And I've never been around anybody with the tireless work ethic, the leadership, the person he is and having done it for so long. So having him back is the greatest news I heard all offseason."
