Tom Brady has one Bucs coach fearing this season could be it
Brady is the all-time leader in touchdown passes and passing yardage
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Tom Brady has never exactly been firm on when he thinks he’ll step away from football but at least one Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach is keeping the notion in the back of his head.
Buccaneers quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen expressed some worry to the Tampa Bay Times on Friday about the possibility of Brady walking away from the game after this season. Brady is in the second year of a two-year deal he signed with Tampa Bay in the 2020 offseason.
"I’m your typical fan," Christensen told the paper, "and I’ll be thinking, ‘Is this the last time we’re going to see him?’"
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Blaine Gabbert, Ryan Griffin and Tom Brady meet with quarterback coach Clyde Christensen during the Buccaneers' mini-camp at AdventHealth Training Center on June 10, 2021, in Tampa, Florida. (Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
If this is Brady’s final season, he would be going out on top of the sport aside from the seven Super Bowl rings he won as a member of the Buccaneers and the New England Patriots.
Brady, 44, led the NFL in 2021 in touchdown passes (43), passing yards (5,316) and completions (485). The 719 passes he threw this season, which also led the NFL, was by far the most he’s ever thrown. At the end of the regular season, he was also the all-time leader in passing yards (84,520) and passing touchdowns (624).
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I think he's playing at a high level, at a high, high level. I mean what more [is] there to say? You just said it. You just said it all. To have that type of year and to have that type of season, regardless of your age," offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich said Thursday. "If you're 25, if you're 26, everyone's begging and hoping they can have that type of year.
SUPER BOWL 2022: RAMS, CHARGERS EXECS TOUT SOFI STADIUM
Tom Brady warms up before the NFC Wild Card Playoff game between the Buccaneers and the Philadelphia Eagles at Raymond James Stadium on Jan. 16, 2022 in Tampa, Florida. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
"You guys know what I think of Thomas. Thomas is as good as they come. It's great to be a part of coaching him and watching him go play the way that he plays week-in and week-out. It's special to be a part of, but what more needs to be said with everything you just said? You just said it all. Those are the facts of what he's done. [He's] as special as they come. I don't know how you do better."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}There isn’t much more, statistically, he would need to accomplish.
"I feel like it's, for me, always about the team's success, so it's hard to compare one year to another. I feel like I want to play as a championship-level player. That's what I've said for a long time. When I'm not able to do that – I said a long time ago, 'When I suck I'll retire,' but what I really meant was when I'm not capable of leading the team to victory then someone else has to do the job," Brady said Thursday.
"I feel like I can do that. Obviously, we've put ourselves in a decent position – now we're in the postseason, and we've got to take care of a very tough opponent. I just love being out there with the guys. Let's see if we can beat a really tough Eagles team. This team is going to challenge us, and I'm going to have to play good football."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Tom Brady at Raymond James Stadium before the NFC Wild Card Playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Jan. 16, 2022, in Tampa, Florida. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Brady’s quest for an eighth ring begins Sunday with a matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles.