Of all the words Tom Brady said in his postgame press conference Saturday night, "hopefully" was one that stuck out.
Q: Is there any possibility you would retire after this offseason?
TB: I would say it's pretty unlikely, but - yeah, hopefully unlikely.
We all get why it's unlikely. Every time he's given a chance to back off his stated desire to play until he's 45, he doubles down. He loves to play. He doesn't suck (that being another requirement for him to hang it up). There's been no measurable physical dropoff to his agility or arm strength.