The past few months have been wild for Tom Brady and the Buccaneers, to say the least.

It all started with dramatic comeback against the Rams that ended up as a 30-27 loss in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. Then came Brady's retirement. Then came Ali Marpet's retirement. Brady decided to un-retire a few weeks later and then Bruce Arians retired 17 days after he returned.

Is your head still attached to your shoulders? It's understandable if not.

And to make things even more complicated, wild rumors and silly speculation has followed Brady, Arians, and the Buccaneers ever since Brady "called it quits" on February 1.

Brady finally spoke to the media for the first time since his decision to return in an interview with ESPN on Monday night. And of course, the topic of why he returned was brought up.

Sure enough, Brady's decision to return had nothing to do with the San Francisco 49ers nor the Miami Dolphins. In fact, it fell in line with what he has said, all along.

"I knew my body, physically, could still do what it could do and obviously I have a love for the game," Brady told ESPN's Tom VanHaaren. "I think I'll always have a love for the game. I do think physically I'll be able to do it. I just felt like there was still a place for me on the field."

Brady has maintained two truths about his eventual retirement: He wants to play until the ripe age of 45 and he will stop playing when he sucks at playing football.

It's simple: He will be 45 during the 2022 season and currently, he doesn't suck. That's why he returned.

But, that's not the only reason. As Brady said in his un-retirement post, there is "unfinished business" for him and the Buccaneers in 2023.

"Last year was a very bitter ending to a season and we've got to make a lot of corrections to try to improve and put ourselves in a better position to succeed moving forward," Brady said.

There's no reason to think the Buccaneers can't pick up where they left off. Especially after bringing back multiple, key free agents. They should be even stronger once the NFL Draft is over with, which is scary for the rest of the NFL.

2022 is set in stone, but anything beyond that is in question, which is more than fair when it comes to a player who will be 46-years-old when the 2023 season rolls around.

Brady knows this. So do the Bucs. Which is what makes the 2022 season even more important.

"I know I don't have a lot left, I really do," Brady said. "I know I'm at the end of my career. I wish you could go forever, but it's just not and football comes at too high of a cost now. My kids are getting older and it's just getting harder and harder to miss these things.

"But, I wanted to give myself and my teammates and our organization another incredible opportunity to accomplish something that we'd all be very proud of."

You can check out ESPN's full article on Brady, here.

Featured image via  Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports