New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) passes under pressure from Buffalo Bills safety Jordan Poyer (21) during the second half Sunday, Dec. 23, 2018, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Earlier this month, Gisele Bündchen once again talked about how she hasn’t been able to persuade husband Tom Brady to retire from the NFL, telling Ellen DeGeneres that “I haven’t been very successful” at getting him to step down. Now it looks as if the Patriots quarterback isn’t going to hang it up after what has become a somewhat difficult 2018 season.

“I absolutely believe I will,” Brady said when asked by Westwood One’s Jim Gray about whether he’ll be back in 2019. “I know I’ve talked about it a long time. I have goals to play not only next year but beyond that. And I’m going to try to do it as best as I possibly can. I’m going to give it everything I have, like I always have. It will certainly be a challenge. I don’t take any of these things for granted. But I hope I can keep playing. I hope I can keep playing at a championship level.”

Brady will be 42 at the start of next season, and he’s said in the past that he would like to play until he’s well into his 40s. Should he return he would become one of the oldest regular starting quarterbacks in NFL history, joining the likes of Vinny Testaverde, Warren Moon and Brett Favre, all of whom started multiple games for the teams while on the north side of 40.

“I’ve been able to be in a career for 19 years that I love,” Brady said. “I wake up every day excited to go to work … fulfilled … I don’t think there’s any greater gift in my life than to have that. … In my heart and soul, I love playing the sport of football.”

The Patriots have clinched the AFC East title for the 16th time in Brady’s career, but the season has seemed to be a bit of a slog. Brady has thrown 11 interceptions, his highest total since 2013, and his QBR is 67.4, his lowest since that same season. Rob Gronkowski clearly isn’t the same player he once was, Julian Edelman has battled an ankle injury this season and Josh Gordon has once again bounced out of the league. Nevertheless, the Patriots still rank seventh in the league in offensive DVOA, a measure of efficiency, and still can secure the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs with a win Sunday combined with losses by the Chiefs and Chargers.

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