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Pros and cons behind Tom Brady’s most likely destinations

By Patrick Morgan

FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS - JANUARY 04: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS - JANUARY 04: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 01: Mike Evans #13 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers catches a pass during the third quarter of a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at TIAA Bank Field on December 01, 2019 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 01: Mike Evans #13 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers catches a pass during the third quarter of a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at TIAA Bank Field on December 01, 2019 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images) /

5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are rumored to have an interest in Tom Brady this offseason. Head coach Bruce Arians was noncommittal about whether or not his team planned to retain former No. 1 overall pick Jameis Winston in 2020, as Winston is himself a free agent this spring.

Arians did comment at the NFL combine that should Brady become available, he’d be interested in speaking with him or his management — along with Philip Rivers and any other available QBs on the open market.

PROS:

Mike Evans. The electric wide receiver is one of the best in the league at his position. He’s a three-time Pro Bowler who somehow is still just 26 years of age. If Brady were to sign with the Bucs, he’d be throwing to the best pure talent on the outside he’s had since Randy Moss — plus that talent would be in his prime (Moss was already on the back-end of his career when he joined the Pats).

Arians is also widely regarded as one of the better head coaches in the league. He brought the Arizona Cardinals to the Super Bowl once upon a time, and he helped fashion the Buccaneers last season into the third-best offense in terms of total yards gained, behind only the Ravens and Cowboys.

The Bucs were also the fourth-highest scoring offense in points and the No. 1 offense overall in passing yards, so there’s no doubt that Brady would have a relatively soft landing here. With Evans catching his passes and Arians running the show, Brady could potentially put up some of the best numbers of his career and challenge for another league MVP before he retires.

CONS:

Tampa Bay is still a very young team. If Brady’s looking to find a more experienced squad from top to bottom, he should probably look elsewhere.

TB12 had a difficult time controlling his emotions at times during 2019, largely because he seemed frustrated with the relative youth and inexperience around him on the roster. Tampa Bay doesn’t have a lot of savvy veterans on offense or defense to show the rest of the team how to close out games and create a winning mentality.

Overall, the culture of the Buccaneers would also represent a steep drop-off for Brady after having been in New England for 20 years with Bill Belichick. There’s a chance he could become frustrated with a lack of discipline or motivation from his teammates, particularly if the Bucs found themselves down on the scoreboard in games.

Tampa also had one of the worst rushing attacks in the league last year. As frustrated as Patriots fans were with Sony Michel and the lack of a consistent ground game in 2019, the Pats still finished the year 18th in rushing yards, which is just about league average. For comparison, the Bucs finished 24th.

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