11:16 PM ET

Tom Brady said on Monday that despite announcing his retirement, he knew he could still handle another season in the NFL and that he began to think about a return to the Buccaneers when free agency began last month.

Brady said that he has a love for the game and that his body could do what it could. I felt like there was still a place for me on the field.

He spent time with his family after he retired from football. He felt that he should be playing.

He spoke with people he had befriended in the past and decided that he wasn't done yet. Brady said the love for his teammates and the excitement about the challenge the organization will face will be what he will remember the most.

The way the season ended, with a 30-27 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the playoffs, just didn't sit right with him.

Brady spoke to ESPN a day before the launch of his new golf collection through his performance apparel brand, BRADY, and said that he loved the competition on the field.

Brady doesn't know how much longer he has left to play football, but he didn't want to sit on the sideline and miss out on another chance at a successful season with his teammates

I know I don't have a lot left, but I really do. Brady said that he knows he is at the end of his career. My kids are getting older and it is harder and harder to miss them.

I wanted to give myself and my teammates another chance to accomplish something that we would all be very proud of.