For his first two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tom Brady enjoyed one of the NFL’s best offensive line units, anchored in part by Pro Bowl left guard Ali Marpet.
A few weeks after Brady announced his retirement this past offseason, Marpet made the much more shocking announcement that he would also be walking away from the game. At 28 years old, and still in his prime after just seven years in the league, Marpet was ready for a new chapter in life.
Not long after, Brady changed course, announcing that he would return for a 23rd NFL season, this third with the Bucs. There were jokes and rumors that perhaps Marpet would make a return of his own, but he made it clear he was done for good.
While Marpet’s retirement was surprising, the Bucs still had a solid backup plan. Aaron Stinnie had performed admirably as a spot starter, most notably in relief of injured right guard Alex Cappa throughout Tampa Bay’s impressive playoff run through Super Bowl LV.
An upgrade might have been nice, but salary cap space was still thin this offseason, and the Bucs were also trying to keep Cappa and Pro Bowl center Ryan Jensen, both of whom were headed for free agency. Jensen re-signed on a three-year deal, but Cappa signed a massive deal with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Tampa Bay filled Cappa’s spot with a fantastic trade, acquiring veteran right guard Shaq Mason from the New England Patriots for a fifth-round pick. The move gave Brady a former teammate and an experienced blocker to take Cappa’s place. Jensen was back as Brady’s right-hand man at center, and Stinnie was yet another familiar, reliable presence to replace Marpet at left guard.
On the second day of training camp, Jensen suffered a serious knee injury that might keep him out for the entire season. In the second game of the preseason, Stinnie suffered a season-ending knee injury of his own.
That sent Brady into the regular season with a completely different situation up front. Instead of two Pro Bowlers in Marpet and Jensen, he would have a new left guard and a new center, neither of whom had started an NFL game.
Robert Hainsey, a third-round pick in 2021, and Luke Goedeke, a second-round pick in 2022, were thrust into the starting lineup for Week 1 and beyond. Both Hainsey and Geodeke played right tackle exclusively in college (Hainsey at Notre Dame, Goedeke at Central Michigan), but were now starting along the interior, and tasked with protecting the GOAT.
As you might imagine, there’s been a significant drop-off in performance at those two spots, as Hainsey and Goedeke continue to experience growing pains that just wouldn’t be happening if Jensen and Marpet (or even Stinnie) were in the lineup instead. Tampa Bay’s offensive struggles through the first six games of the season don’t solely rest on their shoulders, but it’s easy to see just how much their lack of experience is hurting the team, both in run blocking and pass protection.
Injuries are a part of the game, and you won’t find anyone in the Bucs’ locker room making any excuses. Next man up, and all that. It’s still possible Tampa Bay could make a move before the November 1st trade deadline to bring in some more experience at either spot, but it seems unlikely.
But it’s important to remember that this was never the plan, and the Bucs’ front office did just about everything they could to ensure that the interior of the offensive line wouldn’t be an issue, even after losing both of their starting guards. They gave Jensen a massive three-year extension, re-signed Stinnie, and stole one of the best veteran guards in the league for a fifth-round pick.
Sometimes, bad stuff just happens, and you just have to roll with it the best you can. That’s what the Bucs are trying to do right now, and hopefully, things improve sooner than later.
[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbw5aerff6ff182 player_id=none image=https://bucswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
[listicle id=72107]