No More Tompa Bay? Inside Brady's future with the Bucs
The Season
I am a Bucs fan. A pre-Tom Brady, pre-Jameis Winston Bucs fan. If you've spoken with me at any point during this season, you know how I personally feel about Tom Brady being the Bucs QB1. But, in this facet, I have to be realistic about both parties and how they move forward.
So, let me re-phrase: should Tom Brady be the Bucs - or anyone's - starting quarterback in 2023? Probably not. He should choose the path that doesn't mean being peeled off the turf or suffering an abysmally awful season. But none of us are in Tom Brady's mind so we are at the liberty of whatever he decides.
Tom Brady is good enough to be a starter. And the Buccaneers signed up for this. When they signed a quarterback who wanted to play until he was 45, they were signing up for everything that came with that.
The issue this year? Changes. Lots of them. The big one? Bruce.
Bruce always gave deference to Byron. But even in rumors of the dust up between Arians and Brady, it seemed as if Bruce made edits. Could that have been something sorely missed this past season?
Apparently, while Arians was rehabbing the achilles in the early mornings, offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich and Brady would work on the week's game plan. Arians would later come in and take the red pen to work they'd done. The QB and OC felt undermined, there was tension.
— Rich Ohrnberger (@ohrnberger) February 18, 2022
Next up? The offensive line. Last season's line featured Donovan Smith, Alex Cappa, Ryan Jensen, Ali Marpet and Tristan Wirfs. Cappa left for Cincy, Marpet retired and Jensen spent much of the season injured.
Bowles also deserves a great deal of the blame. While the NFC South as a whole was a shitshow, he'll need to improve whether Brady is back or not.
But yes, the Bucs crawled into the playoffs. Securing their spot after a Week 16 win against the Panthers that would have given the winner the tiebreaker for the division lead. The Bucs finished at 8-9 and the rest of the division all ended the year 7-9.
The Post Season
Tampa hosted Dallas with many feeling the Bucs were primed to upset "America's Team". This is in part to the Cowboys' tendency to absolutely melt in the playoffs and Tom's undefeated record against Jerry's squad.
That did not happen, which was somewhat fine with me as I was done with the season weeks ago. LOL! But typical issues: drives that stall out with a three-and-out, no desire to run the ball - the Bucs finished last in every rushing statistic, coverage mishaps, etc.
Dallas would go on to lose to the Niners in the Divisional Round. While, expectedly, all questions immediately turned to what Brady would do next.
What's Next?
What brought Brady to Tampa to begin with was the plethora of weapons the team had. Mike, Godwin, a defense respected amongst the league's best, a decent offensive line and a QB-friendly offensive scheme. Best believe these are the same wishlist items for Brady *if* he's going to elect to play in 2023.
This is a man who retired last year, and his initial target was 45 which is his age now. Maybe he looks around for his wishlist, decides no one has that for him and hangs it up for good. He does allegedly have a lucrative deal with Fox that awaits him.
But let's say he plays.
Miami
There is the Payton and Brady love affair that got the Dolphins hemmed up. Miami appears to be sticking with Mike McDaniel but that doesn't totally rule out the Phins. Their defense is eh. But saying no to Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, their legion of running backs and a fun play caller in McDaniel, might be hard to pass up. He'd get to stay in Florida and try it out for maybe a year before handing it up for good.
Vegas
I don't see the allure here. People keep pointing to Brady's relationship with Josh McDaniels, but nah. Davante, Waller, and Josh Jacobs would be great tools to have but is this experiment really worth it. And would the 2023 Raiders be significantly better than what he'd have with the Bucs? Besides the roster, going from the NFC South to the AFC West doesn't sound like things 46-year-olds do for fun.
The Pats
Brady and Belichick whether they like it or not are forever connected. I also don't think their differences or rumored animosity played that much of a factor in him leaving. There were simply teams that offered old man Tom a chance at more jewelry on his finger. And quite frankly, the Pats haven't proven that Brady was wrong in this regard. But then again, they risked it all for their long championship window, so I'm sure no one is too hurt in Foxboro. But no to a reunion; at least before the whole ceremonial signing a one-day to retire with the team, of course.
The Field
The only other big name was the one that always comes up with Brady: the Niners. Prior to the Brock Party becoming a thing, I would have said San Francisco fumbled by not snagging Brady. Now that seems to be a moot point whether Brock can win in the NFC Championship game or not.
The Lions are coming up as a sexy darkhorse pick too. The Michigan connection, a hungry team eager to compete. Some sneaky weapons in Swift, Jamaal Williams, Jameson Williams and Amon-Ra Saint Brown. While he'd be a perfect stopgap for Detroit and it'd be a heartwarming tale; it'd be hard to imagine Tom signing up for a lot of what-ifs.
And lastly, the Bucs. A major part of Brady leaving New England was also about control. Any team he signed with was signing up for how long he decided to play and Brady getting to dictate as much as he wanted. It's not too dissimilar to the Browns needing to fully guarantee Deshaun's contract to get him to go there. It's what the cost is of Tom Brady deciding to come to your franchise.
The fan in me isn't too fond of Brady having carte blanche in Tampa. But the realist, objective author for What You Expect understands the deal the Bucs made with 'the devil'. In the cap space basement and possessing a late selection in the draft, the Buccaneers are better off with Brady coming back.
If he comes back, great. It'll probably be another playoff berth and maybe they can put it all together once more. If he doesn't, Jason Licht and Todd Bowles have a lot of miracles to perform if they want to re-tool instead of re-build.
Check out our other NFL Offseason Outlooks:
Minnesota Vikings | New York Giants | Seattle Seahawks |