Patriots Legend Tom Brady Believes He Can Still Play

Should New England Patriots Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady suit up in the current landscape of the NFL, would he succeed in leading some scoring drives down the field? According to Brady, he would easily.

The 48-year-old quarterback took time to join Colin Cowherd on The Herd this week to discuss the upcoming week in the NFL, which was dominated by headlines of veteran quarterback Philip Rivers coming out of retirement to sign with the Indianapolis Colts. When Cowherd asked the Patriots legend his thoughts on one of his longtime peers putting the pads on, the ultra-competitive Brady made some interesting comments.

"Yes, I certainly could," Brady said. "I think the answer for me would be yes."

Obviously, a return for Brady won't be happening. Since joining the ownership group of the Las Vegas Raiders, Brady has given up his ability to come out of retirement and play. He's already come out of retirement once in his career -- a brief stint before coming back to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ahead of the 2022 season -- but a reunion on the field with Rivers won't be happening.

Would The Patriots HOF QB Succeed If He Returned To Play?

"Who retires and then unretires and then is ultimately going to retire again? Who does that? That's ridiculous for Philip to do that," Brady joked to Cowherd.

During Brady's career playing against Rivers, he succeeded against a player who will likely be enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame alongside him. In eight matchups, Brady's Patriots went a perfect 8-0 against Rivers on the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers, which included wins in three playoff games (the 2006 AFC Divisional Game, the 2007 AFC Championship and the 2018 AFC Divisional). The only time Rivers was able to beat New England was when Brady was sidelined for the entire season in 2008 with an injury.

Now, Rivers will try to lead the Colts to the playoffs after a recent skid in performance, and some crushing blows to the quarterback position.

Dec 7, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) throws a pass during the third quarter against the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images | Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

The Quarterback Position Is Mainly Mental, Brady Says

"This game is about, for the quarterback, from the neck up. We used to have a saying at Michigan, 'The mental is to the physical as four is to one at the quarterback position,'" Brady said. "That doesn't really go away. Do you still have the physical ability to still do it -- take the hits, make the throws, the drops, buy a little time in the pocket?"

If Brady could suit it up, there isn't a doubt that the legendary champion would find a way to go back to his old ways. After all, the seven-time Super Bowl winner continued to fight his way back from a torn ACL in 2008, a suspension in 2016 and a mini-retirement in 2022.

For now, the closest he'll get is the broadcast booth each week.

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