Bill Belichick may not be quaking in his sweatsuit if the Tampa Bay Buccaneers go all in on quarterback Tom Brady. The Buccaneers are set to aggressively pursue Brady, if he hits free agency, according to the Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud. But former New England Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson doesn’t see that bid as intimidating. In fact, Johnson thinks Belichick might let it happen.
“I think the Krafts and I think Bill Belichick would be totally fine with Tom going to Tampa,” Johnson said on “Early Edition,” as transcribed by NBC Sports Boston. “You know why? Because I think Bill thinks Tom isn’t going to win there. They’re not going to be successful. It’s just an inherently bad franchise. Tom going there is not going to all of a sudden turn around their fortunes.
“So, I feel like this is getting personal. So I’m basically saying that Bill Belichick wants to see Tom Brady fail. He might, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there would be a part of him that’s like, ‘Yeah, go ahead, Tom. Go to Tampa.’”
The Buccaneers have an absurd $90 million to spend this offseason, and while Brady and Buccaneers linebacker Shaq Barrett, a pending free agent, would likely consume a sizable portion of that cap space, Tampa has plenty of money to also fill their needs on the offensive line. The Buccaneers are a place where Brady can get paid while also getting the supporting cast he reportedly desires, with receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin with tight ends O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate. With coach Bruce Arians at the helm of the offense, Brady might manage a lot of production. It’s a solid landing spot for the 42-year-old quarterback.
But of course, Brady probably doesn’t care as much about throwing for 5,000 yards. He wants to win another Super Bowl. And Johnson makes a good point. Brady is more likely to win with Belichick in New England — even if there’s minimal offensive talent — than the quarterback is to win in Tampa with a hugely talented roster.
[vertical-gallery id=80676]