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New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady says it is “unlikely” he will retire in the off-season after the Tennessee Titans knocked his side out of the NFL play-offs.
The Titans beat the Patriots, the defending champions, 20-13 in the AFC wildcard game at Foxborough.
Brady, 42, is set to become a free agent for the first time in his career.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen. No-one needs to make choices at this point,” he said on Sunday.
Brady has only played for the Patriots in his record-breaking 20-year NFL career.
He has won a record six Super Bowls, including three of the last five, and is widely regarded as the greatest quarterback of all time.
“I love playing football. I’ve loved playing for this team for two decades and winning a lot of games,” Brady added.
“I don’t know what it looks like moving forward, so we’ll just take it day by day.”
Brady’s last pass in what could be his final game for the Patriots was intercepted for a touchdown.
‘We’re focused on this game right now’
When asked if Brady could return next season, head coach Bill Belichick said: “We just finished the game, so we’re focused on this game right now.”
There was speculation Brady would retire when the Patriots lost their final game of the regular season, forcing them to play in the wildcard round of the play-offs for the first time in 10 years.
After playing college football at Michigan, Brady was the 199th pick in the 2000 draft but, under the tutelage of Belichick, he led the Patriots to the most successful era in the franchise’s history.
The pair have won more Super Bowls, regular season and postseason games than any other quarterback-head coach combination in NFL history.
Brady won each of his first three Super Bowls (2002, 2004, 2005) and was the championship game’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) four times, making a total of nine Super Bowl appearances – both NFL records.
He was named as the league’s MVP in 2007, 2010 and 2017, and is second on the all-time list for touchdown passes and passing yards behind current New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees.
After the Patriots beat the Los Angeles Rams last year, Brady has won more Super Bowls than any other player and last month was one of only three current players named in the NFL 100 All-Time Team to commemorate the league’s 100th season.
He holds the NFL record for the longest time playing quarterback for one franchise, and has never had a losing season as the starting QB.
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