Tom Brady's retirement surprised Bruce Arians, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach believes Brady is done for good.
Speaking with reporters Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine, Arians said he does not expect the 44-year-old quarterback to play next season, despite widespread speculation to the contrary.
"He slammed (the door) shut when I talked to him," Arians said, via MassLive.com. "I think like a lot of these guys, he likes to have his name out there."
Brady led the Buccaneers to a Super Bowl title in 2020, then turned in an MVP-caliber campaign in 2021, leading the NFL in passing yards (a career-high 5,316) and passing touchdowns (43). In his final game as a Buc, he erased a 24-point second-half deficit, only for Tampa Bay to lose to the eventual champion Los Angeles Rams on a late defensive breakdown.
The future Hall of Famer had long maintained that he planned to play until age 45, but he ultimately chose to walk away a few months shy of that milestone.
"Every time I met with him, he felt fantastic," Arians told reporters. "I kept asking him, 'How do you feel? How do you feel?' He says, 'This is the best I've felt in 10 years.' Week 16. The way he was playing, I had myself convinced he was coming back. Then when we talked, I understood everything about it."
Arians told ESPN's Jeff Darlington on Tuesday that he'd welcome Brady back -- a sentiment shared by Bucs general manager Jason Licht -- but that he does not expect the QB to return.
"If Tom wants to come back, we're open arms, brother," the coach said. "I don't think it's going to happen, and we have to prepare for next year."
As for the rumblings about Brady potentially angling to play for a different team in 2022, Arians said in his combine news conference he has no interest in trading him. Doing so, Arians said, would be "bad business."
Asked what it would take to pry Brady -- who remains under contract with the Bucs -- out of Tampa, Arians replied: "Five No. 1 (draft picks), maybe." Arians said he has a "fantastic" relationship with Brady but that he'd feel no emotional incentive to grant a potential trade request from the star signal-caller.
"Not at all," he told reporters.
The Bucs will evaluate quarterback options in the coming weeks, Arians said, but would be "very, very comfortable" entering the upcoming season with journeyman Blaine Gabbert and 2021 second-round pick Kyle Trask as their top two QBs. Gabbert is an impending free agent.
"There's very, very few (veteran quarterbacks) available unless you're (adding one) via trade," Arians told reporters. "Blaine Gabbert's been in this system a long time now, and his talent is more than enough. So if we go free agency-wise, we'll probably bring him back."
