Miami Dolphins cornerback Cortland Finnegan doesn't envision that happening for the New England Patriots star quarterback.
"He's asleep," Finnegan said of Brady, per The Palm Beach Post. "Tell him to wake up from whatever dream he is in.
"He can probably do it mentally, but physically, as the game evolves and gets faster and the guys at the defensive end position get bigger, it's going to be tough. I don't know that he'll be able to recover as fast."
Finnegan acknowledged that Brady, 37, deserves the "benefit of the doubt" as a future Hall of Fame passer hellbent on preparation -- and one who just dismantled Miami 41-13 on Sunday.
"He was born in a manger, I'll say that much," Finnegan said. "But I'm not sure at age 40 he wants to take a blind-side hit and get back up."
Brady, though, is deadly serious about extending his career deep into the future.
Sports Illustrated's Greg Bishop recently painted a fascinating picture of the passer's in-season and offseason regiment. Designed by California-based trainer Alex Guerrero -- described by teammates as the quarterback's Mr. Miyagi -- Brady's intense, hour-by-hour schedule is "mapped clearly into his 40s."
Embracing a tightly wound program hinging on plenty of sleep, practice time and cross-training with very little alcohol -- but ample helpings of vegetable ice cream -- Brady's late-career commitment to the game has left throwing guru Tom House to tell SI: "(He's) pushing back the aging process. There's no reason he can't do at 45 what he did at 25."
Today's athletes are returning to the field from injuries in record time and extending their careers far beyond what yesterday's NFL players could have fathomed. If anyone has the makeup -- inside and out -- to play beyond his 40th birthday, it's Brady.
"You'll hear people say, football doesn't define me," said Guerrero, but: "Football isn't what Tom does -- football is Tom. This is who he is."
The latest Around The NFL Podcast discusses Jay Cutler's benching and what it means for his future with the Bears. Find more Around The NFL content on NFL NOW.
