Tom Brady shocked the idle sports world by announcing that he wouldn’t finish his football career in New England on Tuesday. What followed was vast speculation regarding how this could happen and where Brady would eventually play in 2020.
Over the past 48 hours, the list of teams that were expected to be in on Brady has dwindled. NBC Sports’ Chris Simms’ reported that the 49ers had passed on the 42-year-old, electing to stick with Jimmy Garoppolo. The Titans were a favorite to land Brady a week ago, but they signed Ryan Tannehill to a massive extension on Sunday. Las Vegas seemed to be in the mix as well, but they decided to bring in Marcus Mariota to push their starter, Derek Carr.
Now, with the Patriots out as well, it seems there are two major players left in the race – the Chargers and the Buccaneers. However, it should be clear that the Buccaneers are the best option for Brady.
Tampa Bay has two talented wide receivers in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin that will provide Brady with the best talent he’s had at the position since the Randy Moss-Wes Welker days. The duo combined for 153 receptions, 2,490 yards, and 17 touchdowns last year, both playing in less than 15 games.
Add two more tall, athletic targets in tight ends O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate, and that offense is dynamic. No, it’s down-right explosive.
Not to mention they have a former second-round pick at running back in Ronald Jones II who may finally be able to take over with Peyton Barber on the market. Last season, Jones II averaged 4.2 yards per carry and totaled 724 yards in a true backfield split. Those numbers could increase with a consistent workload.
Brady won’t be able to find a coach as knowledgable or as capable as Bill Belichick. But, Bruce Arians has been able to work with some of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time and has seen a lot of success with them.
Prior to his time in Tampa, he helped resurrect Carson Palmer’s career and managed to make it to the playoffs a couple times. He worked with Andrew Luck in his rookie season and helped bring the Colts to a Wild Card game. Going back, Arians helped Ben Roethlisberger win a couple Super Bowls, and going back even further, Arians brought Peyton Manning into the league.
That’s a coach who’s been around some of the best. He knows how to deal with top-level talent. Perhaps even more important to Brady, Arians understands the importance of family time and having a personal life. In a sit-down with NBC Sports’ Peter King, Arians told his coaches “if you miss a football game or a recital, anything to do with your children, I’ll fire you.”
That may be one of the most enticing aspects to the father of three. It’s likely that wherever Brady goes, he will have to get some leeway with the coaching staff in terms of travel and days off. That’s been evidenced by the past few seasons in New England. In Tampa Bay, that’s something that their culture and their head coach understand.
On top of all that, the Buccaneers have the money to get it done. Earlier today, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that it’s believed that Tampa Bay offered around $30 million. As everything currently stands, the team has just over $60 million in cap space, according to Over the Cap. That’s plenty of money to make Brady happy and fill in any of the small holes that need to be upgraded.
The money, the philosophy, the coach, and the weapons are all there. Everything seems ready for the former Patriot to slide right into Tampa Bay.
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