Joe Buck isn’t expecting Tom Brady to spurn the Fox broadcast booth for an NFL comeback, but he wouldn’t be floored by it either.
Buck was recently interviewed by Chris O’Gorman of Questions for Cancer Research, a newly launched not-for-profit company. During the interview, Buck was asked about the possibility of Brady making his second NFL comeback, this time at 47 years old. Last month, Brady himself teased the idea of a comeback, saying he’s “not opposed” to a potential return to the playing field.
“I would never bet against him,” Buck said. “I feel like he said that with a kind of twinkle in his eye. I don’t know him very well at all but I think that would be a stretch. But if there’s anybody who could do it, I would say it’s him. If there’s anybody who’s going to stay in shape so he could do it, I would say it would be him.
“Would I be floored if it happened or if he came back and somehow guided a team into the postseason? No. Because I think he knows with his savvy and his mind and his experience where to go with the ball, when to go with the ball, and could get through a game maybe if he was 60…I do know he’s pouring a lot of work into being a broadcaster. I’m anxious, like everybody, to hear how that is.”
Assuming Brady goes through with making his debut as a lead NFL analyst, everyone will finally get to hear how that sounds in Week 1 for the Dallas Cowboys-Cleveland Browns game on Fox. But just because Brady makes his debut for Fox, it won’t necessarily stop teams from checking to gauge his interest in playing again.
“I remember Troy [Aikman], we were working our first or second year together,” Buck recalled. “He got a call at halftime from Andy Reid when Donovan McNabb got hurt, and the question was, ‘Would you come play for me?’ And I think all these guys want to be wanted…but this is the NFL. Long answer, could he do it? Yeah. Would he do it? I think all the planets would have to align for something like that to happen.”
Two years ago, people were floored to learn Brady had an interest in being a broadcaster. Two years later, Brady finally seems destined for the booth, but it’s hard to rule out the prospect of him ever playing again completely. Especially considering Brady doesn’t even rule it out.
[Questions for Cancer Research]
