People Close To Tom Brady Believe He Will Keep Playing: REPORT

People in Tom Brady's circle reportedly don't expect him to hang it up.

Brady briefly retired after last season before ultimately returning to the Buccaneers. Once again, all eyes are on the seven-time Super Bowl champion as fans await a decision on what he will do.

The Tampa Bay Times published a lengthy look at Brady's options moving forward, and apparently, people with knowledge of his thinking don't think retirement is on the table.

"Brady hasn’t decided whether to continue his career, although many close to him believe it’s likely," Rick Stroud reported.

Will Tom Brady keep playing? (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

What will Tom Brady do?

Stroud's piece for the Tampa Bay Times laid out a pretty convincing case for why the San Francisco 49ers might pick up the phone and call Brady.

Brock Purdy is out for roughly six months after suffering a serious elbow injury, and nobody has any idea whether or not Trey Lance can play.

The 49ers are built to win right now, and Brady could definitely step in and make an immediate impact. There's little doubt about that, but with Brady, you simply never know.

Is retirement a realistic option for Brady?

While nobody seems to know what Tom Brady is thinking, it definitely doesn't seem like he's leaning towards retiring.

He got divorced during this season and has never appeared more committed to playing. That hardly means he's committed to the Bucs, but he hasn't shown a shred of evidence that he wants to hang it up.

Is retirement a realistic option for Tom Brady? (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

That means he likely has at least one more season of football left in him. Will that season be with the Bucs or elsewhere?

If he wants his eighth ring, it will probably have to be somewhere else. Given the talent the 49ers have, it could make a lot of sense.

Kyle Shanahan was one win away from the Super Bowl starting a seventh round pick at QB down the stretch. That's nothing short of incredible.

NFL fans are waiting for Tom Brady to make a decision on his future. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)

Make sure to keep checking back to OutKick for the latest updates as we have them, but as of right now, the view of people close to him appears to be that he'll keep playing.