Tom Brady Believes He Could Make Philip Rivers-Style Comeback to NFL

Brady, at age 48, believes he could pull off a similar return to the NFL as the 44-year-old Rivers.

Rivers (left) and Brady (right) met nine times in their careers, including the postseason. / David Butler II-Imagn Images

Future Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Philip Rivers, who last took a snap under center five years ago, is improbably returning to the NFL via the Colts as relief for the club's ailing QB room. But there's another well-known quadragenarian who, in theory, believes he could make a similar comeback: Tom Brady.

Brady, 48, who is currently a color analyst on Fox, spoke with network colleague Colin Cowherd on Thursday and was asked if he believed he could make a similar comeback to Rivers if he was familiar with the hypothetical team's offense.

“Yes I certainly could,” Brady said. “...I think the answer for me would be yes. I'm not allowed to anymore because I'm a minority owner of the Raiders, so I can't unretire.”

It's not difficult to imagine that Brady, who played at a high level until his eventual retirement at the age of 45, and once entertained the possibility of playing even longer, could still smoothly run an NFL offense at 48 years young. So, it's a good thing that Brady once again clarified why he can't make such a comeback—his minority ownership of the Raiders—especially in light of Las Vegas's own QB injury situation. Starter Geno Smith has yet to practice this week due to shoulder and back injuries.

Brady, showing his sense of humor, also made a joke at his own expense while discussing Rivers's comeback.

“Who retires and then un-retires and then is ultimately going to retire again? Who does that? That’s ridiculous for Philip to do that,” Brady said, referencing his own back-and-forth decision-making process before he ultimately decided to hang up the cleats following the 2022 season.

Brady is 'excited' for Rivers's return

Brady went on to explain why he's looking forward to seeing one of his former rivals back on the football field in his mid-40s.

“I'm very excited to watch Philip play,” Brady said. “If he’s out there, it’s just very cool. It speaks to how much he loves the game and really what he’s able to do still. This game is about, for the quarterback, from the neck up. We used to have a saying in Michigan, the mental is to the physical as four is to one at the quarterback position. And that doesn't really go away. That's still up there.

“Do you have the physical ability to still do it, take the hits, make the throws, the drops, buy a little time in the pocket? If Philip has been practicing those things, then we're all going to see it on full display in Seattle on Sunday afternoon.”

While the Colts have yet to name a starting QB for the club's Week 15 game against the Seahawks, it seems likely that Rivers will get the nod, giving him a chance to show what he can do as Indianapolis looks to stay alive in the AFC South—and postseason race.

---

More NFL on Sports Illustrated

feed