If Tom Brady leaves Buccaneers could he stay a pirate?

If this does end up being the final season for Tom Brady with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, could he still end up aboard a pirate ship?

It’s no secret to anyone that this is likely the swan song of Tom Brady with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brady is an unrestricted free agent, and the possibility of the GOAT just deciding to retire (for real this time) is very much in play. Sure, it maybe hasn’t been the ideal season for Brady and the Buccaneers to this point, so the probability of this tenure ending on a high note is waning by the week. Hey, it’s better to burn out than fade away right?

Naturally, speculation is running rampant on where Brady will play next season if not in Tampa Bay, and if he doesn’t retire. The most popular choice seems to be the San Francisco 49ers, the team Brady grew up rooting for as a Bay Area kid. There are other seemingly perpetually quarterback-needy teams in the mix as well, but another team that has flown a bit under the radar seems to be potentially the strongest possibility.

The Las Vegas Raiders may not play football in the Bay Area anymore, but they did when Brady was growing up. This very easily could be where Brady ends up after this season.

The obvious connection is the fact that Josh McDaniels is the head coach of the Raiders, and  Brady reuniting with McDaniels who helped him enjoy arguably his greatest offensive success when he was his offensive coordinator with the New England Patriots would certainly be enticing. You add on the coaching complains that the current Buccaneers staff has received so far, and that point is exacerbated. Speaking of coaching, there is another factor here that goes deeper than just the basic Brady-McDaniels connection.

If Dana White is anyone to be believed, Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski (who is already starting his normal shtick of “not ruling out” a comeback) signing with the Raiders before the 2020 NFL season was a done deal, before then-Raiders head coach John Gruden, putting the clamps down on that in favor of Derek Carr, and the make up of their team at the time. Once again, Gruden helps the Bucs at the Raiders expense. It’s a tale as old as time.

Speaking of Carr, this is also where things get interesting. McDaniels and the Raiders have just announced that they will be benching Carr for the rest of the 2022 season, with all signs pointing to a Vegas exit for the veteran quarterback. With the Buccaneers likely in the quarterback market, should Brady leave, that would certainly be an intriguing option, especially with Davante Adams in Sin City. Granted, they would have to take on his salary and are tight on cap space as it is, but a quarterback swap of sorts is certainly not out of the question to bring the Tuck Rule full circle.

Nobody knows what Tom Brady’s next move is. It’s likely that he doesn’t even know. However, we can certainly speculate and read some tea leaves, especially when the team he goes to may directly affect the future of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.