What's it like to be 45 years old and a quarterback starting an NFL game? Before Sunday night, no one knew. Then came Tom Brady, the man who defies the laws of aging.
The seven-time Super Bowl champion became the oldest quarterback to ever start in an NFL game, clocking in at 45 years and 39 days.
Brady is somehow still at the top of his game and looks just as in shape as he ever has, but that doesn't mean he isn't feeling the effects of Father Time. After the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 19-3 road win against the Dallas Cowboys, Brady admitted he was feeling the impact of suiting up.
"There's no margin for error when you're 45," Brady said Sunday on his "Let's Go!" podcast. "You take hits and you feel every hit. When you're younger, your body's a lot different. And when you're 45, your body changes a lot. So what am I dealing with today? I woke up today going, 'Holy s---, there was a few hits.'"
Brady said the feeling he had waking up made him think about how much longer he can realistically play.
"You look at your arm and you got bruises, you got cuts," Brady said. "And you go, 'OK, how much longer do I want to make this commitment?' And I obviously made the commitment for this year and everything's going to be like always -- continue to evaluate all these different aspects of playing."
Brady went 18 of 27 with 212 yards, one touchdown, one interception and endured two sacks from Micah Parsons on third down in the red zone.
The future Hall of Famer may be hinting towards this being his last year, and eventually, he does have to hang up his cleats. But there is no sure bet on when that will happen. Even when he officially retired and his NFL career seemed to be over, he ended up announcing his return just 40 days later.
Brady has been in the league for more than two decades, and as he enters his 23rd season, the question on everyone's mind -- and the question that's been on everyone's mind for a while now -- is how much longer can No. 12 keep playing at an elite level?
For right now, all we know is that he is committed to this year, but a few victory Mondays waking up sore may send him back to retirement for good.
