11 years after they were high draft picks in the same class, two Pro Bowlers are teaming up with Tom Brady to chase their first ring
Wherever Tom Brady goes, championships follow.
Such was the case in 2020, when Brady helped lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl victory in his first season with the team, after winning six Lombardi Trophies in 20 seasons with the New England Patriots.
Back with the Bucs for a third season, Brady is still attracting some of the top veterans on the free agent market who are still chasing the first ring of their pro careers.
Julio Jones, a seven-time Pro Bowl wide receiver who signed a one-year deal with the Bucs on Wednesday, joins Brady after spending 10 of his 11 NFL seasons with the division-rival Atlanta Falcons. One of Brady’s most iconic Super Bowl wins came at the expense of Jones’ Falcons, erasing a 28-3 deficit in the second half on the way to an overtime win.
Now, Jones makes it clear that the opportunity to play for a championship was a driving factor in his decision to join forces with Brady in Tampa Bay.
“Absolutely. It’s not a money play – it’s none of that,” Jones told the media Wednesday. “It’s just for me to come out here knowing my value and knowing what I have to offer. The Buccaneers organization is just giving me the opportunity to come here and showcase my skills and just to be a part of something new, to be a part of this team. They have everything that they need already, right? But they’ve got to put the work in each and every day. Nothing is given to you. You’ve just got to come to work every day. That’s what I bring. I’m going to work every day – that’s just who I am.”
Kyle Rudolph has yet to make it to a Super Bowl, coming closest in 2017 with a loss in the NFC title game to the Philadelphia Eagles team that would beat Brady and the Pats in the Super Bowl that year.
The chance to chase that first ring while catching passes from the GOAT was just as important to Rudolph, who also signed a one-year deal in Tampa Bay this week, and will help fill the void left behind by Rob Gronkowski’s retirement.
“At this point in my career, what I was looking for in terms of a team and an organization everything is about winning,” Rudolph told the media Wednesday. “The only thing I haven’t done to this point is win a championship, and that’s all I want to do. It has been very evident the first two days here, that is the ultimate goal. Everything that we do individually, or collectively as a team or, collectively as an offense, is about reaching that ultimate goal. It has been stressed numerous times. Obviously, they came up just short last year but, you’re retooling the team each year and now we have to start from ground zero and build back up to that. You don’t just get the opportunity to be– back in the divisional round, you have to earn it. So for me coming into a culture like that, to be around that type of vibe– that was what I was looking for. Certainly, the obvious other reason was the quarterback and his play.”
The Bucs are once again among the favorites to take home the Lombardi Trophy this year, and the addition of these two Pro Bowl pass-catchers should make their odds even stronger.
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