The Tom Brady Sweepstakes: Tampa Bay Agrees to Terms With TB12

Well, this is going to take some getting used to.

Tom Brady has left the New England Patriots, and will be taking his Hall of Fame services down south. Brady is signing a multi-year deal with the Tampa Buy Buccaneers. The Buccaneers officially announced the signing of Brady on Friday morning.

Brady's contract with the Patriots ran up following the 2019 season, and neither party entered true negotiations to renew his deal. Brady announced his decision to part ways with the New England Patriots on social media. 

In his 20 years in New England, the former sixth round pick won 17 division titles, 9 AFC Championships, and 6 Super Bowls, among a laundry list of accolades. But for a perennial champion and the widely heralded G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time), Brady's tenure ended on a sour note in his final season. The Patriots lost four of their last eight regular season games in 2019, and they fell to the Titans in the Wild Card Round, their worst finish to a season since 2009. Individually, Brady threw for 24 touchdowns and finished with a passer rating of 88.0, both his lowest totals since 2013. Brady's final throw as a Patriot was an interception returned for a touchdown by Titans cornerback Logan Ryan.

We're Onto Tampa Bay

Now, Brady heads to the NFC South, a division stacked with prolific quarterbacks, Matt Ryan, Teddy Bridgewater, and Drew Brees. He is committing to turning around an organization starved of winning, which has not made a postseason appearance in the last 12 seasons. 

One of the most substantial differences in Brady's transition to Tampa Bay is the discrepant philosophies of Brady's former head coach and his new one. Bill Belicheck famously preached the motto "Do Your Job" for twenty years in Brady's ear, with attention to detail on every play, progression, and route in the calculated Patriots offense. Bucs head coach Bruce Arians has his eyes on the prize, with the philosophy "No Risk It, No Biscuit." Arians will dial up a blitz on Hail Mary, and throw it deep on 3rd and 1, and make high risk calls for high rewards. Arians makes his money on throwing everything and the kitchen sink at his goals, as opposed to carefully calculating every decision he makes. Brady is strictly regimented and disciplined with his playing style, which may lead to a culture shock of sorts when he coexists with his first new head coach since 2000. 

On paper, the Buccaneers are an upgrade from the Patriots for Brady. Wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin are game changing wideouts who both surpassed 1,000 receiving yards in 2019, and OJ Howard and Cameron Brate are the best one-two punch at tight end in the NFL. Brady has not had a receiver as good as Evans on his team since Randy Moss, never mind a supporting cast as strong as Tampa's. The Patriots offense was dwindling with weapons over the last few seasons, with playmakers like Brandin Cooks, Rob Gronkowski, and Josh Gordon out the door. Brady's final season in New England featured Julian Edelman, Mohamed Sanu, and Benjamin Watson as the primary weapons, which made Brady play like his age down the final stretch of 2019. Tampa Bay has the proper arsenal of weapons Brady needs to extend his career a few more years, if he wishes to achieve his goal of playing until 45 years old.

In the landscape of a now heavily loaded NFC, the Buccaneers hope that Brady signing in Tampa revives their relevancy. The Bucs have not made a postseason appearance since 2007, and have not won a playoff game since their lone Super Bowl victory in the 2002 season. They have also stagnated in quarterback purgatory for virtually their entire history as a franchise, desperately seeking the signal caller that turn the fortunes around for this team. The Bucs held out hope that former first overall pick Jameis Winston could be the man to lead them to championships, but after a 2019 campaign in which Winston threw 30 interceptions, the Bucs decided they would not sign him to a second contract. In 2019, the Buccaneers finished 7-9, third in the NFC South.

With the greatest quarterback in human existence under center for Tampa, the Buccaneers are headed towards upward trajectory, and won't settle for anything less than Brady's seventh title. Whether or not the Buccaneers are the team to send Brady off into the sunset a champion is a question that can only be answered the day Brady retires, but the Bucs have talent to win now. Under the leadership of the invariably motivated Brady, who will have a chip on his shoulder unlike ever before to win, a championship window is wide open for Tampa Bay.

Buckle your seatbelts, next season is going to be a lot of fun.

Follow Sam DeCoste on Twitter @thesamdecoste