Philip Rivers’ return as quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts after retiring in January 2021 has sparked questions about whether other former players could quickly get back into game shape, and one of the names inevitably brought up is Tom Brady.
Rivers played his final NFL game in January 2021 during the playoffs, before making a surprise return last weekend to replace Daniel Jones against the Seattle Seahawks. In that game, Rivers completed 18 of 27 passes for 120 yards, threw one touchdown, and was sacked once.
His performance immediately raised the question of whether other quarterbacks could return swiftly from retirement, and the idea of Tom Brady has naturally fueled debate. Could the former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers star realistically come back and still be successful?
How much time would Tom Brady need to be NFL-ready?
On the latest episode of The Big Podcast with Shaq, Brady appeared as a guest and suggested he could once again succeed in the NFL with relatively little preparation. The former quarterback is now 48 years old and has been out of professional football for nearly three years.
So how much time would Brady actually need to get ready? The analyst and entrepreneur seemed confident in his answer.
I could go out there and play. Give me a month. I mean, I could go play with anybody.
The statement caught Shaquille O’Neal off guard, prompting him to interrupt and ask whether Brady was truly serious. Brady clarified that while the physical aspect wouldn’t be an issue, the real challenge would be the commitment required to endure a full NFL season.
“My body, like I said, I took care of my body great,” Brady explained. “I mean, everything – I could do it all. What I wouldn’t want to do is make the commitment to play. It’s like basketball season: do you really want to commit to playing 82 games? That takes a lot of training, and it’s like, I don’t want to do that anymore.”
Was Brady bothered by his Netflix roast?
Shaq also took the opportunity to ask Brady how he felt more than a year after the release of The Roast of Tom Brady on Netflix. During the show, several high-profile figures revisited controversial moments from Brady’s career, including Deflategate and the end of his marriage to Gisele Bündchen.
The former New England star spoke candidly about his reaction to the program, explaining that he has little patience for people who can’t take a joke.
“I think a lot of people I love being made fun of, because when they make fun of you, they know you’re comfortable with yourself. They’re comfortable with you if they make fun of you. Then you know you’re really friends,” Brady said.
“I think people that never make fun of you – everything is so behaved – I’m like, ‘Man, is this real or not?’ Like in a locker room, all you do is make fun of people. I make every joke of (Rob Gronkowski) Gronk and Julian (Edelman) and, you know, everybody,” he ended.
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