New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has had an interesting offseason. His decision to sit out the team’s voluntary workouts to spend more time with his family raised more than a few eyebrows and fueled further speculation about the supposed friction in his relationship with head coach Bill Belichick.

But as he indicated previously, Brady has returned to work and reported to training camp Sunday. And as Mike Reiss of ESPN notes, the soon-to-be 41-year-old apparently hasn’t lost any of his enthusiasm for the job as he enters his 19th NFL season.

“After staying away from voluntary workouts for what he termed family considerations, Brady is described as being as excited as ever for another season, according to those close to him,” Reiss wrote.

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Despite some rumblings about his potential retirement this offseason, Brady has reasserted his desire to play on into his mid-40s. And even though he’s accomplished basically everything there is to accomplish in his career — from his five Super Bowl rings to his three regular-season MVPs to his status as the likely G.O.A.T. — the fire seems to still be there.

It’s obviously great news for Patriots fans to hear that Brady remains as excited as ever to play another season. The purported problems he’s had with Belichick－which apparently still haven’t been resolved－haven’t put a damper on his desire to continue his career.

As long as Brady’s healthy and motivated, the Patriots should be considered Super Bowl contenders. The second part of that equation is looking good heading into the season, so there’s strong reason to be optimistic for another successful year.