Brady wants to be with Bucs for 'a long time'

Tom Brady is loving life with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the star quarterback can't imagine wanting to end this chapter of his storied career anytime soon.

"Whatever I thought I was getting into, it's been so much better," Brady told the Tampa Bay Times' Rick Stroud. "As good as I could've envisioned, it's been even more enjoyable than that. It's pretty much a different life than being in the Northeast. I had a great 20 years, and I never want to take away from that. Also, this experience has been amazing. (Tampa's) a great-kept secret. It's a small city. Everything is close. The airport is close. Work is close. We live on the water.

"Hopefully, I'll be here a long time," Brady added. "For many years."

The 44-year-old is contracted through 2022 after signing a one-year extension with the Bucs - who are among the Super Bowl favorites after retaining their entire championship core from a year ago - during the offseason.

Brady led Tampa Bay to its second title in franchise history and the seventh of his career while playing with a torn MCL in his left knee. The signal-caller underwent surgery in February and feels 100% healthy heading into his 22nd NFL season.

"This is the first time that I've been able to run and not think about it," said Brady. "I'm not going to turn into Michael Vick out there, but at least I'm not going to be super restricted."

The Bucs will kick off the 2021 campaign on Thursday against the Dallas Cowboys.

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