On Sunday, Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers watched Jacoby Brissett march the Cleveland Browns to a game-tying touchdown in the final moments of regulation, then a game-winning touchdown in overtime.
This offseason, they could see Brissett march down to One Buc Place to take Brady’s spot as their new starting quarterback.
Brissett has been a placeholder in Cleveland for Deshaun Watson, whose 11-game suspension stemming from multiple allegations of sexual assault expired this week. Considering all of the resources the Browns have invested in Watson, Brissett will obviously need to find a new team next season if he wants to be a starter again.
That’s a role Brissett has proved worthy of in the past, and again this season, putting together an impressive campaign for Cleveland despite the knowledge that it would end as soon as Watson was eligible to return.
Enter the Bucs, who could be looking for a new starter of their own after this season.
Brady’s current contract expires after this year, and there’s been no indication that he plans to return for another season, in Tampa Bay or anywhere else. Veteran backup Blaine Gabbert’s one-year deal is also up, leaving the Bucs with 2021 second-round pick Kyle Trask as their only option to succeed Brady.
That’s exactly why the Bucs spent such a high pick on Trask, but he’s still been unable to beat out Gabbert for the backup job behind Brady, and has been a healthy scratch for all but one game so far in his career.
Despite looking at some key losses in free agency next year, and a daunting salary cap situation, the Bucs will still have more than enough pieces on both sides of the ball to compete for the NFC South crown and a playoff spot.
That being the case, it makes far more sense that they’d want to bring in an experienced veteran to be their starting quarterback, instead of handing the reins to Trask, who looks like he’ll ride into his third NFL campaign without a single meaningful snap under his belt.
The Bucs aren’t likely to be the only team interested in Brissett’s services after his impressive play this season, The North Carolina State product is about to turn 30 years old, which isn’t anywhere near over the hill in quarterback years these days.
Translation: Tampa Bay’s ability to make a run at Brissett will greatly depend on the market that materializes for him in the offseason.
Considering what the Bucs’ salary cap situation looks like heading into next year, they’re going to have to make some tough decisions and make some more creative moves to free up enough money just to retain the players currently under contract. That’s likely to limit their ability to spend on new additions, so Brissett could easily end up getting priced out of their range, if another team with more cap space can afford to outbid them.
Brissett is playing season on a one-year deal worth $4.65 million, but he signed that deal knowing he would just be a placeholder until Watson returned. If the Bucs want him as their clear-cut starter next year, it’ll cost them more than that.
But the Bucs have proven in recent years that if anyone can figure out a way to accomplish what they want and stay under the cap in the short-term, even at the expense of whenever that bill comes due in the future, it’s them.
If Brissett becomes their prime target to replace Brady, and why wouldn’t he after they got a front-row seat to what he can do Sunday, don’t be surprised if they do what it takes to make it happen.
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