Down to Tampa Bay and New England for Tom Brady?
Can it really be down to just the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and 6-time Super Bowl champion New England Patriots? Per NBC’s Chris Simms, that answer is yes.
After the Tennessee Titans announced they had re-signed quarterback Ryan Tannehill to a 4-year, $118-million dollar deal and Brady’s hometown San Francisco 49ers declines the opportunity to explore signing the 42-year old, door No. 2 will be. closely looked at by Tampa Bay head coach Bruce Arians and general manager Jason Licht.
This really does have the feel of 2006 all over again, when the Green Bay Packers were in a conundrum with future Hall of Famer Brett Farve at the time. It was said to be a done deal that Farve would land in Tampa Bay and reunite with former Packers’ assistant Jon Gruden. At the 11th hour, the Buccaneers would miss out on Farve and he eventually was traded instead to the New York Jets.
So this isn’t the first encounter the Buccaneers have had with potentially signing a future Hall of Fame quarterback. But in fairness to back in 2006, it’s not like Tampa Bay had a signal caller coming off the type of year Jameis Winston had either. A guy who threw for more than 5,000 yards and 33 touchdowns is always something to think about. It’s the 30 interceptions and myriad of fumbles lost that has all the question marks surrounding Winston’s return to Tampa.
Enter Brady, the man, the myth, the living legend himself. The opportunity to fill every seat at Raymond James Stadium has to be crossing the minds of the Glazer family, for so many times they had to stare at a stadium that was about three quarters filled. The No. 12 in pewter and red with new uniforms to boot has to be screaming dollar signs everywhere to the Glazers.
The personal touch, though the Glazers have had with Winston since he was made the No. 1 pick of the 2015 NFL Draft is still there. It’s no secret the final group that has to be pushed in the direction of moving on from Winston is the Glazers. They want to see Winston succeed, but how many more Sunday’s with missed opportunities can the franchise’s fans handle?
With Arians at the age of 67 years old, it’s also no hunch that he only has a couple more seasons under his belt before he gives way to one of his seasoned assistants. Can Winston make the leap in Year 2 under Arians like Peyton Manning, Ben Rothlisberger, Andrew Luck and Carson Palmer did before him? It’s not everyday you have two top flight receivers in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Last time Brady had guys like that to throw to, he set records with Randy Moss.
This process with Brady and Winston is a look into what one guy has done and what another hasn’t lived up to. We will go through a roller coaster of a 72-hour period and find out which door Arians and the crew chooses.
Door No. 1 with Jameis Winston or Door No. 2 with Tom Brady? Stay tuned.
