Tom Brady all but confirms his exit from NFL following embarrassing loss to Browns - "I'm on borrowed time"

Tom Brady was candid this week on the latest episode of his Let's Go podcast. After a disappointing 23-17 overtime loss to the Cleveland Browns, Brady spoke to co-host Jim Gray about Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

While Brady did take responsibility for not playing as well as he should have, he also did indicate that his playing time may be over sooner rather than later.

The legendary quarterback said that he is on "borrowed time," indicating that he knows that, at age 45, his career is likely coming to an end. He said that he continues to just focus one day at a time and one game at a time.

Brady said that he sees improvement each week on the practice field and although there are changes being made, the team is just not playing at the level they expect from themselves.

"That's right. That's right. And I'm on borrowed time anyway. So, you know, I love competing still. But, you know, at this point, like we've always said, it's day to day, game to game. At this point, I really, I'm just focused on what we need to do and prove this. We can go out and practice. And that's what I've always enjoyed about football.

"You know, I love the sport, so I love the preparation for it. I love seeing us improve and get better. And I think there's definitely things on the practice field that have improved and I definitely see signs of improvement in game day, but it's just not to the level that we're expected to and what we demand of ourselves in order to win consistently."

Brady's statement about how much time he has left in the National Football League could be an indicator that he plans to retire yet again at the end of this season.

Tom Brady says that he would rather play and lose than not play

Tom Brady loves football, and that's evident. A few months before his 45th birthday, the seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback announced his retirement. But he took recanted on that proclamation just 40 days later.

His Buccaneers team is just 5-6 through 11 games this season, something completely uncharacteristic for arguably the best quarterbacks to ever play the game. On this week's episode of the Let's Go podcast, the quarterback stated that although it's hard to lose a game, he would rather play and lose than not play at all.

“Look, losing is hard for all of us, but I’d rather lose and play than not play at all. I love playing. I love competing. I love trying to be a little bit better every day. I love going out there with a sense of purpose, to try to get better."

The quarterback's sentiment proves just how much he loves the game and the competitive drive that he has. While he would rather play and lose than not play at all, the six losses by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are certainly not what he expected heading into this season.

The Bucs' schedule won't get any easier in the weeks ahead. Tampa Bay will host the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football next week before heading cross-country to play the San Francisco Giants. Then a home game against the Cincinnati Bengals takes place. Time is running out for Brady and his team.