Before the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took the field during Super Bowl LV, it was reported that veteran quarterback Tom Brady delivered an inspirational speech that helped fire up his teammates against the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs. Fueled by Brady’s speech, the Buccaneers crushed the heavily favored Chiefs, 31-9, to become the first team to win a Super Bowl title in its home turf. Days have passed and Brady’s message to his teammates remained a mystery until Tuesday when Peter King of NBC Sports discussed it in his column in Pro Football Talk.
Brady fires up teammates
King said Brady asked his teammates to “seize the opportunity.” “We win today and we’re champs for life!” King added, quoting Brady. This was the first time Brady delivered a speech in the locker room all season and it was a huge moment as he psyched up his teammates to perform to the best of their abilities against an offensive juggernaut in the Chiefs. The Buccaneers’ defense never gave up a touchdown pass to Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who threw 38 touchdown passes in the regular season. They also forced Mahomes to throw two picks after having just six interceptions all season. Earlier, broadcaster and analyst Colin Cowherd on his radio program discussed how Brady served as inspiration to his teammates, in addition to his leadership on and off the field.
With Brady’s help, the Buccaneers won their first Super Bowl title since 2002. The veteran quarterback, for his part, captured his seventh Super Bowl ring and he would return to Tampa Bay next season to make a run at his eighth title.
Brady might woo James White
During their time together with the New England Patriots, Brady had a reliable pass-catching running back in James White.
In their final two seasons together, White caught 159 passes for 1,396 yards and 12 touchdowns from Brady. The Buccaneers have outstanding running backs in Leonard Fournette and Ronald Jones but they struggled in catching passes from Brady. Fournette only had 36 receptions for 233 yards while Jones had 28 catches for 165 yards in the regular season and only had two touchdown receptions as a group.
According to Zack Cox of New England Sports Network, Brady might ask the Buccaneers to make a run at White as he turns free agent in he offseason or he himself might do the recruiting, just like what he did to Fournette after he was released by the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Buccaneers need a backup plan in case Fournette signs elsewhere in the offseason and White could be an excellent option. In his seven-year career with the Patriots, White has rushed the ball 309 times for 1,240 yards and 10 touchdowns and caught 369 passes for 3,184 yards and 25 touchdowns.