"What are you doing?" - Skip Bayless urges Tom Brady to return to NFL in 2022

Skip Bayless of Fox Sports' Undisputed has urged Tom Brady to return to the NFL in 2022. The seven-time Super Bowl champion called time on his storied 22-year career after the Buccaneers were sent packing in the playoffs by the L.A. Rams.

Bayless, a long-time Brady advocate, took to his Twitter account to promote a segment of the show in which he talks about the former Tampa quarterback and his second thoughts about retiring.

"My heart is screaming to me that Brady has come to the realization that I was saying from the start: What are you doing?," he wrote. "You're still playing at the highest level and you’re healthy!."

Bayless was responding to what Brady said on his Let's Go podcast with Jim Gray, in which he said to never say never on the possibility of returning to the NFL.

"You know, I'm just going to take things as they come," Brady said. "I think that's the best way to put it and I don't think anything -- you know, you never say never."

"I know that I'm very -- I feel very good about my decision," he said. "I don't know how I'll feel six months from now, and if that will change, it most likely won't. But I try to make the best possible decision I can in the moment, which I did this last week."

Could Brady return in 2022?

Every athlete goes back and forth on whether they made the right decision regarding their retirement. It sounds like the former Buccaneers quarterback is going through that at the moment.

He did say "never say never" but also said he is happy with the decision he has made, but he has left the door that was previously thought to be slammed shut, slightly ajar.

His performances on the field certainly make fans lean toward the idea that he could still play in the league for another season. He is one of the favorites for the MVP award along with Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

His stats this year have been phenomenal. He threw for 5,316 passing yards (1st in the NFL) and threw for 43 touchdowns (led the NFL) so his level of play is still up there with the best in the game.

The pull of family was clearly strong for the 44-year-old and now he will get to spend some much-needed time with his wife and children.

But him leaving the door slightly open for a return has the entire NFL community salivating over the prospect that we may not have seen the last of the seven-time Super Bowl champion in the NFL.