Buccaneers could be facing future leader in game vs. Browns

If the Buccaneers are inching closer to a future where they need a bridge quarterback for 2023, Jacoby Brissett has made a compelling case for himself.

No one knows what Tom Brady is going to do in 2023, but that doesn’t mean that the Buccaneers need to sit on their hands and do nothing to come up with a plan for the future at the quarterback position.

While many fans will hate the idea as they initially hear it, Jacoby Brissett is going to be a name that makes a lot more sense over the coming months.

For starters, this team is still not ready for Kyle Trask or Blaine Gabbert. You can argue as you might, but Trask is still way too raw for a team that will still be in a Super Bowl window next year in a very bad NFC South. We’ll come to Gabbert in a moment.

If Trask doesn’t work and Brady isn’t back, most quality free agents (like Lamar Jackson) will be out of the question due to their price tag and the lack of cap space for Tampa, and the draft is going to be dicey due to the lack of decent options outside of the top-15 picks, and area that the Bucs shouldn’t be near.

If it comes down to Gabbert or Brissett, Brissett just makes much more sense.

Before we get into game fits, Brissett is four years younger than Gabbert but should cost just slightly more. The Bucs could probably afford to pay the premium for Brissett as the starter over Gabbert, and it is clear that Brissett is the better quarterback based on what we have seen this year.

You can argue about other years of his career, but Brissett is playing better than every one of his other bridge quarterback options that should be available in 2023 (Jared Goff, Baker Mayfield, etc.)

The Browns may have a great running back and a decent wide receiver, but Brissett has still been an influential reason behind why the Browns are top-10 in points this season, even if his stats don’t jump off the page.

Brissett is throwing the ball well, running the ball when called to, and moving outside of the pocket with comfort when plays break down. That sounds exactly like what the Bucs want their offense of the future to look like.

Don’t let the touchdowns and interceptions fool you; Brissett has the seventh-best adjusted QBR, the tenth-best EPA, and the seventh-best Raw Total Quarterback Ranking.

The advanced stats show that Brissett has played like a top-10 quarterback for most of the season, and it is fair to assume that if his defense was even 16th in the league in quality right now that the Browns would be in a playoff spot.

Get off the initial shock of the moment; Brissett is probably not going to be a face of the franchise for the future, but the Buccaneers throwing bridge money at a guy like Jacoby Brissett after he puts together an excellent season is far from the worst decision the team could make.

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