Tom Brady spent the better part of two decades dominating Sundays in the NFL. Now he just dominated Selection Sunday, too.

Yup. The future Hall of Fame quarterback managed to steal the spotlight from college basketball on the sport’s biggest day of the year. Within an hour of the bracket-reveal shows, Brady announced that he had changed his mind about retiring.

For what reasons? We don’t really know. Then again, we don’t really know why he retired in the first place either. Especially since he played so well in 2021.

So, let’s get to the important stuff: What does this mean for the Pittsburgh Steelers?

Because, if we can’t look at an NFL story through the context of what it means for the Black and Gold, what’s the point of really talking about it anyway?

There is the very pragmatic frame of reference to begin with. Brady is now going to be in uniform as the quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when they visit Heinz Field next season. Granted, that’s a venue where Brady has lost three times. But it’s also a place where he won two AFC Championship games. Overall in his career, Brady is 12-3 against Steelers with a 29:5 touchdown to interception ratio and 111.1 quarterback rating.

Bigger picture, between now and then, Brady’s decision to come back does have an immediate impact on the Steelers. This week’s “Madden Monday” podcast seizes on a few ways that might happen.

First and foremost, what does this mean for Ryan Jensen? The Bucs center lineman had been floated as a potential free agent target for the Steelers and the AFC North rival Cincinnati Bengals. But within a few hours after taping our podcast, Jensen decided to stay in Tampa, now knowing that Brady is returning.

“If it was me and it is my one chance to cash in as a center who is (30) years old, I would take the best offer. I wouldn’t worry about Tom Brady,” Madden said.

Then there’s Brady’s role in recalibrating the NFL quarterback carousel.

“This starts some dominoes falling. It affects the quarterback situation in the NFL because a quarterback is not going to Tampa Bay. So now that the Steelers have missed on Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson and Tom Brady, that only leaves Deshaun Watson and his phalanx of lawyers and public relations people,” Madden said.

• Tom Brady says he's returning to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for his 23rd NFL season • Tim Benz: Penguins-Hurricanes regular season battles did little to reveal clues for a potential playoff showdown • First Call: Steelers still in mix for JuJu Smith-Schuster; Browns pushing Deshaun Watson; Bryan Reynolds trade talk

To that point, Watson is now being linked to the Cleveland Browns even more so than he is the Steelers.

“I don’t know if that’s going to make Cleveland a great team, but it is going to make the Browns better than Pittsburgh. If Deshaun Watson goes to Cleveland the Steelers are by far the fourth-best team in the AFC North. By far,” Madden declared.

Also in the podcast, Mark and I discuss the state of the Penguins as they approach the trade deadline. We look at their win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday and their recent lineup decisions.

Plus, we talk about Steelers free agency, the NCAA tournament brackets and the Bryan Reynolds trade rumors.

Listen: Tim Benz and Mark Madden talk Tom Brady’s return and how it impacts the Steelers

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