Tampa Bay Buccaneers whiffed on a potential gamechanger at quarterback
Like everyone else in the league, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had an opportunity to upgrade their QB room and they chose to go a different path.
The Buccaneers, who improved to 1-1 on the season with a win over the Carolina Panthers, signed 43-year-old veteran Tom Brady to a two-year deal worth $50 million.
Through his first two games with the Buccaneers, Brady has completed 64.8 percent of his passes for 456 yards and three touchdowns to three interceptions with a QB rating of 79.3.
One of the other options this offseason was for Tampa Bay to trade for former NFL MVP Cam Newton– or wait until he was waived by the Panthers. Even after the Bucs had signed Brady, they had an opportunity to bring Newton in as a backup who could learn under Brady and potentially turn his career around.
Instead, the Buccaneers chose to do nothing and it could prove costly
Through the first two games of the season, there has been zero question who the better quarterback has been when it comes to comparing Brady and Newton.
They both have the same record, but Newton’s stats are exponentially higher. He has completed 71.4 percent of his passes for 552 yards with one touchdown and one interception (a QB rating of 96.8). Newton has also already rushed for four touchdowns- two in each game- and anyone who watched the Patriots take on the Seahawks this past Sunday knows that the Pats would’ve won the game if Newton had gotten any kind of defensive help.
Brady, on the other hand, has received all kinds of defensive help (the Bucs defense forced four turnovers against the Panthers) and the offense is still struggling to get going. In a loss, Newton still put up 30 points against the Seahawks- a potential playoff team. In a win, Brady put up 31 points against the Panthers- the team who will may end up with the No. 1 pick in next year’s draft.
This isn’t to say that Tom Brady can’t turn things around or that the Buccaneers can’t win a Super Bowl with Brady at the helm because I believe they can.
But to say that Tampa Bay whiffed on Cam Newton- who has shown solid arm strength and elite elusiveness in his first two weeks as the starter in New England is a massive understatement.