It's been a roller coaster of an offseason, all things considering Tom Brady.
With Brady now unretired and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers reloading for a Super Bowl run, one underlying quandary remains as to whether it's just for 2022.
Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht was asked Monday if there's potential for a Brady to play beyond this season, to which the GM let it be known that was an issue to address down the road.
"We'll get to that when we get to it," Licht said, via team transcript. "Right now we're focused on what we have and what we need to do in the next few days"
When Brady unretired on March 13, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported the QB was "on the books" for $10.4 million as "a placeholder from the one-year extension" he signed in March of 2022.
Licht was asked Monday if the Bucs were likely to extend Brady to free up additional salary cap space. The GM let it be known there were plans in the work, but other than that kept said plans close to his vest.
"We have some work to do, and we've got some plans," he said. "There's several ways to go about it, but I don't want to get into too much of what we're doing. We've got several alternatives that we can do, and we're confident that we'll be able to get it done."
Plans have seemingly changed quite often since the conclusion of the Buccaneers' season in the NFC Divisional Round.
Retirement plans were reported at the end of January. Then Brady said he was still going through the process. Less than 24 hours later, Brady announced his retirement. Forty days after that, Brady was back. It's been a dizzying couple of months or so, but it's been a boon for the Buccaneers, who have welcomed back Brady and many others -- Ryan Jensen and Carlton Davis, among them.
Indeed, with Brady's return, the Bucs have become a far more enticing franchise to come back to or join.
"Well, it certainly helped," Licht said. "When you have a player like Tom, who's the greatest quarterback of all-time, if not player, players want to play with a guy like that. So, it certainly helped, I can't lie. We've got the ultimate cheat code with Tom. So, we're going to take advantage of it while we have it. I think players like it here, regardless. But, having a player like that throwing the ball to them, or even being on the other side of the ball knowing that he's your quarterback, it certainly helps."
It's primarily what lured Rob Gronkowski out of retirement two years ago. While the star tight end has yet to decide if he's re-signing with the Bucs (or anybody for that matter), and Brady's status beyond 2022 remains to be seen, Licht is pretty relieved to know his legendary QB is going to be back on the field for the upcoming season.
"A sense of relief," Licht said of his reaction when Brady called to say he was coming back. "We were all excited. I think probably the same like any fan here has been and any person on staff here. We're all very excited. Why wouldn't you be?"
