Tom Brady: Buccaneers ‘leave light on’ for return; Bruce Arians says any trade would be ‘bad business’ | NFL News

Tom Brady, a 15-time Pro Bowl selection and a three-time NFL MVP, is the league’s all-time leader for passing yards and touchdown passes; 44-year-old called time on his history-making career in NFL last month

Tom Brady retired from NFL at the end of last season

Tampa Bay general manager Jason Licht says the Buccaneers will “leave the light on” for Tom Brady in case the quarterback decides to ever return to the sport.

Brady announced his retirement from NFL last month, bringing an end to a career that saw him win seven Super Bowl titles, five Super Bowl MVP awards and three league MVP awards, while leading the all-time lists for passing yards and passing touchdowns.

Barely a week later, he fuelled speculation about his future plans by telling host Jim Gray “never say never” when asked about playing in 2022 on his “Let’s Go!” podcast.

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A look back at Tom Brady’s top plays from the NFL 2021 season.

“We’ll see what the future holds,” Licht said during an NFL network appearance Tuesday. “We’ll leave the light on. You always leave the light on for a guy like Tom Brady.”

Licht is in Indianapolis to attend this week’s scouting combine, where he said the team is “trying to make our plans to move forward” without the seven-time Super Bowl winner.

“If that’s the case that we need to move forward,” Licht added.

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The Sky Sports NFL team pay tribute to Tom Brady, following the quarterback announcing his retirement last month

Licht’s comments sound more optimistic than those of Bucs head coach Bruce Arians, who has said he would be “shocked” if he returned, while both ruled out the possibility of ever trading Brady.

“That door is never closed,” Arians said. “Whenever Tom [Brady] wants to come back, he’s back. If Tom wants to come back, we’ll have plenty of money for him.

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Tampa Bay’s Shaquil Barrett believes Tom Brady will be ‘impossible’ to replace at the Buccaneers, while Buffalo’s Stefon Diggs was full of praise for the legendary quarterback.

Arians was asked whether Bucs would accommodate any request for Brady to move to another team, should he wish to return, to which he replied: “Nope. Bad business.”

Gutekunst: No offers for Rodgers

Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said Tuesday that he hasn’t received a single call or text from any of his peers about a trade for quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

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Aaron Rodgers said he would take some time away before making a decision on his future after the Packers exited the playoffs with a loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

Rodgers has yet to inform the Packers of whether he’ll retire or play in 2022, with the veteran also yet to confirm whether he would want to remain in Green Bay or be traded.

Reports last week said the Packers had “multiple trade offers” on the table, although Gutekunst – speaking to ESPN from the scouting combine – said: “Not at all. Not a single person.”

Rodgers has previously said he’ll make his decision ahead of the beginning of free agency, which begins March 16.

“I would hope so, yeah,” Gutekunst said. “That’s obviously the start of the new league year. There’s a lot of decisions that have to be made before that. So, that would be helpful. I would think we would know something before then.”

NFL Network reported Monday that the Packers are preparing to make Rodgers a short-term offer that would make him the highest-paid player in the NFL if he decides to return in 2022.