Tom Brady appeared to use his retirement announcement to take one final jab at the Patriots

• Tom Brady appeared to take a jab at the Patriots in his retirement announcement.

• While he doesn't mention the Patriots in his retirement post, he did include a photo of himself beating the Patriots as a Buccaneer.

• Some fans were frustrated with Brady failing to mention the Patriots, but others believe it leaves the door open for Brady to sign a one-day contract with New England to officially retire as a Patriot.

Tom Brady has called it a career.

In an Instagram post on Tuesday, Brady made his retirement official after a few days of speculation that the announcement was coming.

"I have loved my NFL career," Brady wrote. "And now it is time to focus my time and energy on other things that require my attention."

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In his farewell post, Brady thanked many people: his Buccaneers teammates, Buccaneers fans, the city of Tampa, the owners of the Buccaneers, Tampa Bay general manager Jason Licht, head coach Bruce Arians, his trainer Alex Guerrero, and his agents.

Notably absent was any mention of the New England Patriots — the team that Brady spent the first two decades of his career with and won six of his seven Super Bowl rings.

While the Patriots, Bill Belichick, and the city of Boston were all missing from the text of his farewell address, Gillette Stadium made an appearance, as the photo he chose to use in his announcement was from Brady's win over the Patriots as a Buccaneer in Week 4 of the 2021 season.

On Twitter, some expressed surprise and frustration with Brady's lack of acknowledgment of his time in New England.

But others believed that Brady left the Patriots because something bigger was coming down the road.

Indeed, there's a chance that Brady's decision to leave out the Patriots from his farewell to football is because he's planning on a more grand gesture in the coming weeks. Signing a one-day contract so he could retire as a Patriot is a possibility.

In the hours after Brady's initial announcement, he thanked the Patriots and their fans via a message posted to his Instagram story.

Regardless of his intent, there's no doubt that Brady knew what he was doing when he left the Patriots hanging in his message. Whether it was meant to be a jab or a nod to one final reunion remains to be seen.

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