Even though it appears Tom Brady is fully and completely retired, The Athletic's Mike Sando did include the future Hall of Famer on the list of to be considered for his annual quarterback tiers that was unveiled earlier this week.

Brady wasn't included in that article because he's not on a roster, but Sando noted in a separate article that was posted Thursday the seven-time Super Bowl champion received votes from the 50 people surveyed in each of the top three tiers.

The majority of Brady's votes were in the second tier (27), with 16 voters putting him in the first tier and seven in the third tier.

One of the voters who had Brady in the third tier said "that is being generous" because he "wasn't the same in terms of consistent accuracy" last season, "and that has been his thing."

"A Tier 3 quarterback is a legitimate starter but needs a heavier running game and/or defensive component to win," per Sando's definition. "A lower-volume dropback passing offense suits him best."

Brady had a productive 2022 season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but it was a significant step down from where he had been in his first two seasons with the team. He threw for 4,694 yards, 25 touchdowns and completed 66.8 percent of his attempts, but his 52.5 QBR was the worst of his career since the stat started being tracked in 2006.

There were a lot of problems on the Bucs roster around Brady that contributed to the issues. Their offensive line was one of the worst units in pass protection and run blocking. They never found a viable replacement at tight end after Rob Gronkowski retired. Chris Godwin dealt with injuries and averaged a career-low 9.8 yards per reception.

Even though that one voter wasn't high on Brady, there were others still high on his ability to play. One head coach told Sando the 46-year-old "would upgrade" the Las Vegas Raiders.

Another head coach said the New England Patriots "would have a better season" if they had Brady instead of Mac Jones.

Sando noted the overall voting results would have placed Brady as the top quarterback in tier two, which would have been No. 6 overall between Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers and Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles.