MINNEAPOLIS — Tom Brady intends to return to New England for a 19th season with the Patriots.
The 40-year-old quarterback was asked moments after the Patriots’ 41-33 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII whether he will be back with the team next season.
“I certainly hope so,” he said. “I certainly hope so.”
Asked again about his future later in his postgame news conference, Brady responded: “I expect to be back, so we’ll see. It’s 15 minutes after the game ended, so I’d have to process this a little bit. I wouldn’t see why I wouldn’t be back.”
Brady, who fell to 5-3 in Super Bowls with the loss, completed 28 of 48 passes for a Super Bowl-record 505 yards with three touchdowns with no interceptions. The yardage mark shattered his previous postseason high of 466 set in Super Bowl LI and represented the second-highest single-game total of his career behind a 517-yard effort against the Miami Dolphins in 2011.
The Eagles’ fearsome defensive line sacked Brady just once, but it produced a fumble that Philadelphia recovered just over two minutes to play in the fourth quarter.
“They made one good play at the right time,” Brady said.
Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, defensive coordinator Matt Patricia and tight end Rob Gronkowski gave less definitive responses about their respective future plans. McDaniels and Patricia both declined to comment on whether they’d be returning to the Patriots or taking head-coaching jobs elsewhere, and Gronkowski wouldn’t commit to playing next season.
