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Philip Rivers‘ decision to unretire five years after his last snap to join the Indianapolis Colts left Tom Brady with a joke.
“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 quipped about the 44-year-old Rivers’ decision during his appearance on Thursday’s “The Herd.”
Of course, Brady retired from football as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in February 2022 before announcing his decision to unretire just 40 days later. After playing the 2022 season with the Bucs, Brady ultimately retired for good and is now serving as FOX Sports’ lead NFL analyst.
But Rivers’ return has just about everyone in the football world wondering the same thing: Could Brady still play quarterback in the NFL at 48?
“Yes, I certainly could,” Brady said when Colin Cowherd asked if he could lead a team to multiple scoring drives if he knew the system well enough. “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.”
Tom Brady on Phillip Rivers’ return: ‘Who retires and un-retires and out of retirement?’ 😅
While Brady might not have been at his peak when he retired from the NFL at the end of the 2022 season, he was still playing at a high level for the Buccaneers. He threw for 4,694 yards, 25 touchdowns and seven interceptions that season, helping Tampa Bay win the NFC South. He also did that while being the oldest quarterback to start a game in NFL history, playing that entire season at the age of 45. In the year prior, Brady threw for over 5,000 yards and finished second in MVP voting.
As Brady mentioned, though, his playing days are officially over due to his ownership stake with the Raiders. So, if he wants to have proof that a quarterback can have success in 2025 in their mid-40s, Brady will have to root for Rivers.
Brady is happy to do that, even if Rivers was a former rival of his.
“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.”
Rivers is currently on the Colts’ practice squad. However, Indianapolis head coach Shane Steichen left the door open for Rivers to potentially start for the Colts when they take on the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
As many have focused on what athletic shape Rivers is in, Brady actually thinks that there are other variables that will be more important in determining if the 44-year-old’s comeback bid will be successful or not.
“This game is about, for the quarterback, from the neck up,” Brady said. “We used to have a saying at Michigan, ‘The mental is to the physical as four is to one at the quarterback position.’ 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 Philip has been practicing those things, then we’re all going to see it on full display in Seattle on Sunday afternoon.”
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