When it was announced that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers re-signed both backup quarterbacks that were set to be free agents, it left many fans scratching their heads. However, the reason is simple why the Buccaneers decided to go this route.
It’s been pretty clear that the plan for the Bucs this offseason is to keep Tom Brady as happy as possible. Regardless of what the motivation and reason were for the exit of Bruce Arians and his being replaced by Todd Bowles, the narrative is that it’s what Brady wanted. Whether or not you choose to believe that admittedly increasingly annoying narrative is completely up to you.
That said, Jason Licht and company have brought players that Brady has advocated for, and/or have been teammates of his in the past to Tampa Bay. Logan Ryan, Shaq Mason, and Russell Gage are a few examples of this.
While it’s easy to understand why those players were brought in, there is some confusion as to why Ryan Griffin and especially Blaine Gabbert were brought back into the fold when A.) Brady is the starter and does a pretty decent job, and B.) the Buccaneers are still hoping to develop former second-round pick Kyle Trask, who went from the apparent starter, to second-string in one un-retirement announcement. Now, it appears there’s competition afoot.
The reasoning is not complex. This is what Tom Brady wants.
According to Rick Stroud, as long as Brady is in Tampa Bay, then the GOAT is going to have a big say in which players he wants with him in the quarterback room. It also comes down to the fact that Gabbert would still be more prepared (for now) than Trask if certain situations arise. To put it rather plainly, and to the point, what Brady wanted, Brady got.
This isn’t meant to be any knock either. There are zero reasons for anyone associated with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, or anyone really at this point, to doubt Tom Brady. Everyone should just be happy he is back at all, and not stress so much about the rest of the quarterback room. There are much rougher seas yet to sail.