Tom Brady’s deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which is expected to pay Brady $30 million per season or more, can become official beginning Wednesday at 4 p.m., when the NFL’s free agent market formally opens.
In the meantime, it’s worth taking a quick look at whether the six-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback with the New England Patriots is set up to succeed or fail in Tampa.
The positives:
Working with Arians: Brady is said to have been seeking a coach with whom he could work collaboratively, with input into how the offense functions, at this point in his storied career. Buccaneers Coach Bruce Arians certainly fits that mold. Arians has worked with a series of star quarterbacks during his coaching career — Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Carson Palmer, Andrew Luck. Brady now will be added to the list.
Talent around him: The Buccaneers are loaded on offense with wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, tight end O.J. Howard and running back Ronald Jones. Brady’s predecessor, Jameis Winston, threw for 33 touchdowns and more than 5,100 yards last season. The issue, of course, was Winston’s 30 interceptions. Brady, meanwhile, threw 29 interceptions over the last four seasons. The lack of playmakers around him on offense that plagued Brady last season in New England will not be a problem for him in Year 1 in Tampa.
Schedule: By passing up the contract offer of the Los Angeles Chargers, Brady avoids playing in the AFC West and facing the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs twice per season. But the Buccaneers do have the Chiefs on their 2020 home schedule. They face the New Orleans Saints twice in the NFC South. They also are scheduled to have home games against the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Rams and road games at Chicago and Las Vegas.
The negatives:
Age: Brady turns 43 in August. The 42-year-old version of Brady last season in New England was not the 2017 version of Brady when he was the league MVP at age 40. Time, at some point, will catch up to Brady.
Scheme fit: Arians likes his quarterbacks to throw the ball down the field with his “no risk it, no biscuit” approach. Brady’s game usually has been more predicated on quick, timing throws and getting the ball out of his hand before the pass rush can arrive. Each party is going to have to adjust.
No offseason program: Perhaps the biggest issue of all is that the NFL has postponed teams’ offseason programs indefinitely because of the coronavirus pandemic. It’s difficult at this point to imagine teams having many — if any — offseason practices before training camp. There will be little offseason work to enable Brady to feel comfortable in a new offensive system.
The unknown:
Antonio Brown … There already is speculation that Brady wants wide receiver Antonio Brown to join him in Tampa after they played one game together last season for the Patriots. Brown was a highly productive player during his Pittsburgh Steelers days and is known as a hard worker on the practice field. But it’s worth remembering that he faces criminal charges in Florida, remains under investigation by the NFL for a potential suspension under the personal conduct policy and was let go in fairly rapid succession by three franchises.
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