After spending two decades as the offensive signal caller for the New England Patriots, future Hall of Famer Tom Brady announced that he was moving on to join another team. The question was where would he move on to? That decision came earlier on Friday and he decided to take his talents to the place that bares the initials of his name.
On Friday morning Mar. 20, Tom Brady, who spent his entire 20-year career with the New England Patriots took to social media to announce that he has signed his contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-9 in 2019) to become their new starting quarterback.
The 42-year-old six-time Super Bowl and three-time NFL MVP signed a two-year deal with the Bucs worth $50 million, all guaranteed according to ESPN NFL Senior Insider Adam Schefter. The deal also includes another $9 million in incentives at $4.5 million per year, and the contract prohibits any tags (a transition or franchise) and the Buccaneers cannot trade the future Hall of Famer. Brady’s salary of $25 million per year is the highest in any contract he’s signed in his career, according to Roster Management System. On top of that, Brady deal does not include state income tax.
“Excited, humble and hungry…if there is one thing I have learned about football, it’s that nobody cares what you did last year or the year before that…you earn the trust and respect of those around through your commitment every single day,” Brady said on his Instagram page: @tombrady at his home signing his contract last Friday. “I’m starting a new football journey and thankful for the @buccaneers for giving me an opportunity to do what I love to do. I look forward to meeting all my new teammates and coaches and proving to them that they can believe and trust me…I have always believed that well done is better than well said, so I’m gonna say much more-I’m just gonna get to work! #Year1.
Over the past couple of seasons, Brady has been on record saying his goal was to play until age 45. He and the Patriots however could not agree on a contract extension last season. Over the last two off-seasons, Brady had his contract restructured where the amount of years were not increased, according to ESPN’s Patriots reporter Mike Reiss said earlier in the week, which created for Brady to explore other options as an unrestricted free agent.
The contract that he signed also means that Brady has plans of playing beyond the contract he just signed with the Buccaneers.
The wheels of Brady eventually signing with the Bucs were set into motion saying in his introductory conference calls as the newest member the Bucs on Tuesday on the night he went to speak with Pats owner Robert Kraft, where Brady said they had a great conversation, where he thanked him for what he meant to him in his life.
The conversation also included head coach Bill Belichick, who called from a different location.
“It was a great conversation,” Brady said of the conversation between the three pillars of the Patriots success. “There’s nobody whose been a bigger fan of the Patriots than me. So, I have nothing but total respect and love, and you know, I’m so grateful to Mr. Kraft and the organization and Coach Belichick, and all the coaches. And obviously all my teammates.”
“The relationships are what matter most to me. And you know, I’m going to be friends with my teammates and former teammates, and coaches for the rest of my life. That’s not going to leave just because I’m wearing a different jersey. But at the same time for me, the new jersey I’m wearing, you know, I’m prepared to give them the every bit of commitment I’ve had my entire career to be the best I can be to help this team the it could be.”
Brady choice to sign with the Buccaneers was an unlikely choice, especially when he could have signed with the Los Angeles Chargers, who are just one season removed from making the playoffs, compared to the Bucs who have not made the playoffs since 2007—the NFL’s second-longest playoff drought behind the 18-year playoff drought by the Cleveland Browns.
To bring this point into clearer context, the Bucs have had only two winning seasons the past decade and have finished dead last in the National Football Conference (NFC) South Division in seven of those last 10 years.
“He knows how to win,” Bucks linebacker Lavonte David, whose led the team in tackles the last three seasons said on the Friday morning edition of ESPN’s “Get Up.” “And you know, the past whatever years, you know? We haven’t been that type of team to be winning, you know, whatever it may be. We have a guy who can get us over that hump, you know?”
“Every other year, you know, were right there but we never find a way to get it done, you know? This guy right here knows how to get it done. He can help us get over that edge.”
The Bucs, who quickly pounced on the chance to add the most accomplished quarterback in NFL history brought to the table a tandem of young and talented wide receivers to work with in Pro Bowlers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin along with talented 6-foot-5 tight ends in Cameron Brate and O.J. Howard.
Last season despite missing games because of injury Evans and Godwin amassed 67 and 86 receptions for 1,157 and 1,333 yards, and eight and nine touchdown receptions respectably. Brate and Howard combined for 70 receptions for 770 yards and five touchdowns, with four of those five scoring grabs coming from Brate. Howard over his first two seasons in the NFL has caught 11 touchdown receptions.
“Honestly, I was shocked,” Godwin, who led the Bucs in touchdown receptions last season said of Brady’s signing. “You know, I wasn’t really sure if it was a real thing or not until I guess we started getting a lot closer and closer. Obviously, I’m elated. I’m excited. Anytime you get the chance to play with a guy like Tom whose accomplished as he is, and as great as he is you just got to relish the opportunity to learn from him.”
Brady said about working building a chemistry with Godwin, Evans and Howard and the rest of his new teammates on the offensive end, “It’s not about what one player does well and great offenses aren’t about one player. Great offenses are about every guy being on the same page. And playing with confidence and anticipation.”
“There’s really some really talented players here on this offense that have very unique skills sets and its really my responsibility to-I have one ball, and I got to be able to deliver that ball to the guy who can do something with it.”
The one question with Godwin is will he give his No. 12 jersey to Brady, whose worn that number since he came into the league two decades ago.
Godwin said on Friday he’s worn the No. 12 since high school but said if he does want it that he will “out of respect” that he would defer the number to Brady
Perhaps what gives this marriage a chance for some serious success is that the Buccaneers general manager is Jason Licht, who was part of the Patriots scouting when they drafted Brady No. 199 overall 20 seasons back.
“Tom is a proven champion who has achieved greatness on the field because he demands the best out of himself and his teammates,” GM Licht said in a statement on Friday. “I’ve known Tom since we drafted him in New England 20 years ago and through this process it became very clear that his desire to be a champion burns as strong today as it ever has. He possesses the type of rare natural leadership qualities that will immediately impact our entire organization.”
On top of that, he will be coached by one of the best offensive minds in the NFL today in head coach Bruce Arians, who has coached some of the very best at that position in future Hall of Famers and two-time Super Bowl champions in Peyton Manning and current Pittsburgh Steelers offensive signal caller in Ben Roethlisberger, and Carson Palmer.
“Tom is the most successful quarterback in the history of our league, but what makes him so special is his ability to make those around him better. I have had the privilege to work with some of the best passers in our game, and the characteristics they all possessed were the ability to lead and get the best out of their teammates. Tom is no different. He is a proven winner who will provide the leadership, accountability and work ethic necessary to lead us to our goal of winning another championship.”
To put into context what Brady has done in his career compared what the Bucs have done in their NFL history, Brady has had seven seasons of at least 30 touchdown passes, compared to the Bucs having just one such season by their signal caller. Brady has amassed 30 postseason wins in his career, to just six by the Bucs. Brady as previously mentioned has won six Super Bowls, while the Bucs have just one, which occurred this past season.
The Bucs offensive signal caller Jameis Winston threw 33 touchdown passes, but also threw 30 interceptions, the first time that has happened in NFL history. Seven of those interceptions were returned for touchdowns by the opposing defense. Also, 13 of those 30 interceptions came when Winston held the football for more than 2.5 seconds.
Brady, who threw 24 touchdowns compared to just eight interceptions last season, threw a pick on just on just one percent of his passes this past season.
“Tom Brady holding the football is not an issue. He’s gonna get the ball out of his hands,” EPSN NFL analyst and former quarterback Dan Orlovsky said. “One of the greatest abilities that he was going to have was his availability. To stay on the field. Make sure he was there for his teammates. So, it’s a really good fit schematically.”
“I think the greatest impact will be outside the football would be the urgency he’s gonna bring this organization.”
The Bucs showed some of that urgency by adding some help their offensive line by reaching an agreement with former Indianapolis Colts’ offensive tackle Joe Haeg.
Along with his intellect and ability to be as prepared to play as anyone else in the NFL, the one great attribute that Brady has had throughout his career is his ability to get the ball out of his hands. That ability to make quick, accurate decisions, which allows the offensive line to block for a certain amount of time while he makes quick reads on where to throw the football.
Last season, particularly in the second half of the season, the skilled players at wide receiver, tight end and at the running back position for the Pats had a problem creating separation and getting open for Brady to where they can make those flash plays that he was so used to having made by the likes of Rob Gronkowski, Troy Brown, and future Hall of Famer Randy Moss, who in 2007 had 98 receptions for 1,493 yards and an NFL record 23 touchdown catches.
“When you look at Tom Brady he’s constantly searching for the ceiling and pushing his own ceiling higher. Always trying to do more,” ESPN NFL analyst Ryan Clark, who played 13 seasons with the Washington Redskins, Steelers, and New York Giants, winning Super Bowl XLIII with Steelers said.
“He understood who he was last year without having the weapons in New England. When people weren’t able to create separation. So, he said, ‘You know what, let me go to a place where I can have that in Godwin, in Mike Evans, in O.J. Howard. And now I’m going to find a way to use all these guys to the best of their ability.”
“The best we’ve ever scene Randy Moss was with Tom Brady. When Rob Gronkowski was the top tight end in the game it was because Tom Brady understood matchups. Understood defenses, and new how to get him the ball where he could be most effective.”
“He’s great at making offensive lines better than they are because he’s so quick on the trigger,” Hall of Famer, Super Bowl champion with the San Francisco 49ers and ESPN NFL analyst Steve Young said on Friday. “And he has guys that can get open. All over the field.”
“When you have a culture changer like a Tom Brady, a guy whose not only a leader but one of the greatest leaders this game has ever scene. The skies the limit for a talented offense, and I think this team immediately takes a jump into being a contender in the NFC.”
The other thing that Brady will bring at the quarterback position is their ability for their offense to not lose games, as seven of their nine losses this past season were by seven points or less.
What will be difficult with the transition that Brady is about to make getting enough time with his new team, the new offensive system and building that timing with offensive line, receivers and tight ends because with the COVID-19 pandemic we are going through right now and the social distancing that we all have to observe right now.
“There’s a lot of ground to make up because I haven’t worked with, you know, these players. And I’m gonna have to learn what they do and their body language, and how they like things. And you know, that’s part of the challenge.”
“I think hopefully the knowledge, you know, I’ve had in my experience playing quarterback will allow me to, you know, transition quickly. There’s a lot of things that I got to get up to speed on. Obviously learning a different terminology. And you know, that’s a unique challenge that I haven’t faced.”
The Buccaneers have already felt impact has already felt the impact of Brady’s arrival with 5,000 to 7,000 fans waited to purchase season tickets, while raising their season-ticket prices by 15 percent for new season-ticket holders.
It almost seemed impossible to fathom that Tom Brady would play anywhere else in his career except for the New England Patriots. That all changed on Tuesday when he announced on his Instagram page that he was leaving Foxboro, MA for a new opportunity elsewhere to finish his career.
Brady found that place in Clearwater Beach, FL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he remains on the East Coast, not too far from his wife famed Supermodel Gisele Bundchen and their two children and is with a team that he has a serious chance to win one more Vince Lombardi Trophy, maybe two.
It will not be easy as he in the NFC South where he will be going head-to-head against former Super Bowl champion and Super Bowl XLIV MVP Drew Brees, who just re-signed with the New Orleans Saints on a two-year, $50 million deal according to ESPN’s Diana Russini and Atlanta Falcons signal caller in 2016 NFL MVP Matt Ryan twice a year.
“I’m going to just do it the only way I know how to do it,” Brady said of his approach to being the Bucs new starting QB adding, “which is just to fully engulf myself in what they’ve done here.”
“It’s a new program that I’m a part of, and they have their way of doing things. And their committed to winning, and I got to come in and do my part. And that’s why I’m here.”
“Looking forward to the opportunity to learn from the new coaches and the new players that I’ll be playing with, and I’m gonna go out and give everything I got.”
Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 3/17/2020 5 p.m. edition ESPN’s “Sportscenter” with Kevin Neghandi and Nicole Briscoe, with reports from Adam Schefter, Mike Reiss, and Chris Berman; 3/20/2020 www.espn.com story, “‘Hungry’ Tom Brady Officially Signs with Buccaneers,” by Jenna Laine; 3/20/2020 3 p.m. ESPN “Sportscenter” Special, presented by Autotrader: “NFL Free Agency,” with Zubin Mehenti, Adam Schefter, Dan Orlovsky, Dan Graziano, Ryan Clark, and Steve Young; 3/20/2020 5 p.m. edition of ESPN’s “Sportscenter” with Ryan Smith and Antonietta Collins, with report from NFL Senior Insider Adam Schefter; 3/24/2020 4 p.m. edition of ESPN’s “NFL Live” with Wendi Nix, Dan Graziano, Tim and Matt Hasselbeck; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Moss#NFL_career_statistics; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Ryan_(American_football); https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drew_Brees; and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Brady#Personal_Life.
No comments:
Post a Comment