Tom Brady has announced he is retiring from the NFL and says this time it is "for good".
Brady spent 23 seasons at the very top of the game but announced his retirement on Wednesday.
The 45-year-old previously called time on his illustrious career a year ago, on February 1 2022, only to announce 40 days later that he was making a comeback.
But after one final season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the legendary quarterback has said his playing days are over.
"I'll get to the point right away. I'm retiring, for good," he said in a video shared on his official social media channels.
"I know the process was a pretty big deal last time, so when I woke up this morning, I figured I'd just press record [and] let you guys know first.
"I won't be long-winded. You only get one super emotional retirement essay and I used mine up last year.
"Thank you guys so much to every single one of you for supporting me.
"My family, my friends, my team-mates, my competitors, I could go on forever, there's too many. Thank you guys for allowing me to live my absolute dream. I wouldn't change a thing. Love you all."
Brady bows out with seven Super Bowl wins to his name, while he was named Super Bowl MVP on five occasions and the NFL's MVP three times, in 2007, 2010 and 2017.
He spent the first 20 seasons of his career with the New England Patriots, before joining Tampa Bay for the 2020 season.
Brady's status as one of the greatest of all time was already assured, but he offered a reminder of his talents by guiding the Bucs to their first Super Bowl success since 2003 in 2021.
Only two QBs – Justin Herbert and Patrick Mahomes, who has taken the Kansas City Chiefs to another Super Bowl – threw for more yards than Brady (4,694) in the 2022 season, with the veteran tied eighth in the NFL for passing touchdowns (25).
Tampa Bay won the NFC South but lost to 31-14 to the Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs on January 16.
Brady's 649 passing TDs is a league record, way clear of Drew Brees in second place with 571, while his yards total of 89,214 is also the best of any quarterback in history.
Only four QBs have racked up more games than Brady's 335; Morten Andersen (382), Adam Vinatieri (365), Gary Anderson (353) and Jeff Feagles (352).
Panthers bench struggling quarterback Young
The Carolina Panthers are making a quarterback change following their 0-2 start, benching 2023 No. 1 overall draft pick Bryce Young in favour of veteran Andy Dalton for Sunday’s road matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Young has struggled mightily in his NFL career after Carolina acquired the top overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft from the Chicago Bears and used it to pick the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner out of the University of Alabama.
The 23-year-old Young has gone 2-16 in 18 starts while completing 59.3 percent of his pass attempts and throwing for 3,122 yards with 11 touchdowns and 13 interceptions for a passer rating of 70.9.
Since the beginning of the 2023 season, Young’s completion percentage is the worst among qualifying quarterbacks and his passer rating ranks second-to-last.
The decision by first-year Panthers coach Dave Canales to switch quarterbacks comes after Young posted a 44.1 rating and passed for 245 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions in a pair of losses to open 2024.
Carolina has been outscored 73-13 and scored just one touchdown on a three-yard run by Young in Week 1.
Dalton started in Week 3 last season with Young out due to an ankle injury and threw for 361 yards with two touchdowns in a 37-27 loss at the Seattle Seahawks.
Six weeks shy of his 37th birthday, Dalton ranks 26th in NFL history with 38,511 passing yards and 28th with 246 touchdowns through the air.
Chiefs running back Pacheco headed to injured reserve with fractured fibula
The Kansas City Chiefs will place leading rusher Isiah Pacheco on injured reserve due to a fractured fibula sustained in Sunday’s 26-25 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Pacheco’s right foot got trapped underneath him, and he was bent backwards while being tackled. He exited in the final minute of the game and was seen in a walking boot with crutches leaving the stadium.
A seventh-round pick in 2022, Pacheco rushed for 135 yards and a touchdown and caught seven passes for 54 yards in helping the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs win their first two games.
Pacheco led Kansas City with 830 rushing yards and five TDs on the ground as a rookie in 2022 and did so again last season with 935 rushing yards and seven rushing scores.
Carson Steele and Samaje Perine are expected to lead the way in Kansas City’s backfield with Pacheco sidelined.
'A long time coming' - Rodgers relishes first Jets win
Aaron Rodgers says his first win with the New York Jets has been "a long time coming" after their comeback victory over the Tennessee Titans.
The 40-year-old’s first season in New York ended in the fourth snap of the first game as he tore his left Achilles tendon.
Returning to action in 2024, he began the year with a 32-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Monday, but finally managed to get off the mark with the Jets on Sunday as they beat the Titans 24-17.
Rodgers threw for 176 yards and two touchdowns, with one of those to 20-year-old Braelon Allen, making it a score between the NFL's oldest and youngest players.
And the quarterback was pleased to avoid the first 0-2 of his 20-year career.
"It was great. It was a long time coming," he said.
"These are kind of the games you look back on late in the season, and you're thankful you won these, because if we want to be a great team, we have to win in these type of environments against a team like that."
The Jets made a slow start to the game but rallied in the third quarter to take the lead, only to be pegged back at 17-17 going into the fourth.
However, Allen once again found his way to the end zone after a 20-yard run to make sure the Jets would be heading home with the win.
Rodgers admitted he was not happy with the first-half performance, but credited the team for staying patient to get it over the line.
"A lot of times people freak out," Rodgers added. "You have to be a calming force in there.
"I felt like the whole game we were frustrated at times, but we never got on each other. I was frustrated not getting [Garrett Wilson] balls. Didn't run the ball very well the first 2 1/2 quarters.
"We stayed confident. The defense came up with some really big plays to keep it a one-score game."
The Jets are back in action on Thursday against the New England Patriots.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
