Tom Brady’s retirement 'for ...

Monday afternoon, after it became clear that San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was going to miss significant offseason time with an elbow surgery, another round of lumber was added to an already raging Tom Brady campfire of what-ifs. The possibilities for the 45-year-old quarterback seemed remarkably endless as the league faces yet another offseason of significant migration at the position.

We’re about to find out, after the future Hall of Famer unceremoniously called it a wrap Wednesday morning, posting a short social media video from a beach where he labeled this retirement from the NFL “for good.” Unless this one is followed by last offseason’s “never say never” qualifications, this proclamation feels like it’s a definitive ending to his playing career — not to mention a final answer for teams that might have lined up for him in 2023.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The buzz around the Senior Bowl when the week started was that Tampa Bay had been interviewing offensive coordinators with an emphasis on how a candidate’s scheme could help Brady get back to his 2021 form. Clearly the franchise’s offensive coaching shuffle prioritized Brady’s return.

Now that changes, and it appears the Buccaneers are facing two avenues: seek a veteran quarterback and hold off on a total rebuild (and the buzz at the Senior Bowl is pointing toward Derek Carr) or absorb the entire salary-cap hit associated with Brady in 2023 (rather than splitting it up post-June 1) and kick a rebuild into gear.

Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders wanted a shot at Brady next season, but a source close to the quarterback told Yahoo Sports in January that geography was going to matter in his decision and moving away from his kids (who live in the Miami area) was likely going to eliminate a move to Las Vegas in the long term.

Miami Dolphins

Those close to Brady who were very loose-lipped about what was going on with him and the Dolphins last offseason maintain that if Brady had his choice entering this offseason, Miami team owner Stephen Ross and the Dolphins would still be at the top of the list.

That said, Miami makes this list only as a cursory note to what Brady had interest in pursuing … not what the franchise was entertaining. Down the stretch and even after the concussion that ended Tua Tagovailoa’s season, it was clear to Brady that the team was moving forward with its young quarterback.

San Francisco 49ers

This is the only team that should give anyone pause about Brady’s retirement. It’s the only team that could pick up the phone at some point in the offseason and change Brady’s mind. That now appears to be off the table, given that the forthcoming Purdy elbow surgery doesn’t appear to be wiping out his 2023 season.

All the teams speculatively tied to Brady that were never realistically in play

This list is long, but here we go: the Tennessee Titans, Indianapolis Colts, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, New England Patriots (eye roll), New York Jets (double eye roll), Washington Commanders (c’mon, what are we doing here?) … were never going to be on the Brady radar.

Some of those destinations were dart throws tied to people who Brady either had a solid relationship with (Mike Vrabel and Bill O’Brien, for example) or once had an interest in joining, depending on his landing spot (see: Sean Payton). The rest was the typical calculus of “hey, here’s a team with a need” or someone just needing to fill some television time with words (Rex Ryan’s Commanders speculation).

Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers

Just a little food for thought here: If Rodgers retires this offseason, it technically means he goes into the Hall of Fame in the same class as Brady, since both are hammerlock first-ballot players. It’s very fair to wonder if Rodgers is interested in that and whether it might provide just a few more molecules of motivation to stick it out in the NFL one more year, so he doesn’t become the second fiddle in his Hall of Fame class.

NFL draft, free agency and trade market

No need to get too deep into this. The draft could get impacted at the top due to the Raiders being squarely in the mode of looking for a quarterback and needing to figure out if someone from this class is worth the pursuit. Same for further down with the Buccaneers and their sudden void. Both will factor into free agency as well, if the draft can't offer the right resolution.

Fox Sports

Now that Brady is retiring, his availability to Fox Sports technically begins now. It will be interesting to see if the network makes any attempt to put him into the fold for the Super Bowl. A source with the network told Yahoo Sports on Wednesday that there hasn’t been an indication whether that might happen.