The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are poised to make a major decision this spring at the quarterback position, but could that include Tom Brady?
Future NFL Hall of Famer Tom Brady isn’t necessarily sold on completing his storied career with New England Patriots.
Brady, a six-time Super Bowl champion and a three-time league MVP, has been speculated by many league analysts to be interested in joining a potential contender and getting out of New England, due to reported frustrations with the organization Bill Belichik, in particularly.
Though most Tampa Bay fans have already ruled out the possibility of Brady signing with the Bucs, we’re going to play devil’s advocate and give five reasons why it could totally work.
5. Tampa Bay has the cap space
First of all, it should be noted that Tampa Bay is one of the few organizations that has the cap space to bring Brady in on a huge contract and still have some room to re-sign players and test the free agent market.
The Bucs have almost $92 million in projected salary cap space, which is good enough for third-most in the league behind the Indianapolis Colts and Miami Dolphins.
If Brady is looking for an organization that can afford him, Tampa Bay will be on the short-list. If it comes down to him deciding between a team like the Dolphins- which finished with just a 5-11 record- and the Bucs, he certainly could elect to head out to Tampa, especially with some of the ties that he and GM Jason Licht share.
4. The Bucs have a promising defense
For the complaints about Tampa Bay’s roster, most would say that the defense took a step forward this season.
Tampa Bay had one of the best rushing defenses in the league and will be poised to fix some of those issues against the pass through the NFL Draft and free agency. The Buccaneers ultimately finished middle-of-the-pack in terms of total defense, but there are certainly reasons for optimism heading into the 2020 season.
LB Devin White and CB Sean Murphy-Bunting were both named to the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA) all-rookie team for the 2019 season.
Brady is used to playing with a dominant defense and no one is pretending that Tampa Bay has the same level of defense as New England, but it is on the rise and could be a nice commodity for attracting the star quarterback.
3. The weather can’t be understated
Now, I know what you’re thinking here. What does weather have to do with anything?
Well, Brady has been used to playing up in New England where it snows, temperatures reach all-time lows, and it’s extremely difficult to throw the football, at least in some cases.
That wouldn’t be the case, however, in sunny Tampa Bay.
Brady would finally have the asset of being able to throw the ball consistently in warm weather- which is much easier on quarterbacks. It’s a small detail, but something to consider at the very least.
2. Tampa Bay can contend
There are very few organizations that feel they are just a quarterback away from being a playoff-contending team.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are just that.
The Buccaneers finished 7-9 and just outside of the playoff hunt in 2019 despite having a quarterback who led the league in pick-sixes. If you replace Jameis Winston with Tom Brady, the Buccaneers probably win 10 or more games and are in the playoffs.
There are some roster holes, but an all-pro QB like Brady would hide some of those deficiencies. Perhaps Brady will have a few other options with viable contenders, but the Buccaneers may be the best fit in terms of this: A place where he can make the most money and compete in the playoffs.
In some of his other opportunities in free agency, Brady may have to sacrifice money to compete or sacrifice competing to make money, but Tampa Bay might be that happy medium.
1. Brady would flourish in the scheme
The No.1 reason why Tom Brady to the Buccaneers could totally happen is because of how well he’d thrive in Bruce Arians’ offense.
Arians loves to throw the football and Brady would have two of the league’s best wide receivers in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, as well as TE O.J. Howard, as viable options.
Brady hasn’t had much help in terms of wide receiver help over the course of his career, but the Buccaneers would offer him some options to make his job that much easier.
All of this being said, it’s just wishful thinking.
The truth is, it makes a ton of sense football-wise for Brady to join the Bucs- should Tampa choose not to re-sign Jameis Winston. But the market-size and franchise prestige will likely leave Tampa Bay on the outside-looking in on Brady’s free agency and the organization will have to look elsewhere to fill its QB void.