The Tampa Bay Buccaneers became instant contenders when quarterback Tom Brady joined the team two seasons ago on a two-year deal worth $50 million. In his first year, the 44-year-old Brady led the Buccaneers to their first Super Bowl title since 2002 after beating the then-defending champion Kansas City Chiefs, 31-9, in Super Bowl LV. The following year, the Buccaneers captured their first NFC South title in more than a decade, but lost to the Los Angeles Rams in the second round of the postseason. After that loss, Brady announced his retirement from the NFL, but changed his mind 41 days later, claiming he still has unfinished business.
When he faced the media recently, Brady said the current crop of Buccaneers players have the opportunity to play their best football ever in the upcoming season.
“I think this should be, in my opinion, our best opportunity to play our best football because we’ve been together the longest,” Brady said, per Luke Easterling of USA Today. Brady said the current players are familiar with each other and with the Buccaneers’ scheme. He added that they have been through a lot of challenging circumstances during games. “Now we’ve got to go out there and execute it as well as we possibly can,” he said. Brady also mentioned that the Buccaneers have good teams on their schedule for the upcoming season, so it would be up to the players to have a great training camp, which will start on July 23.
“You’re not going out there just to break a sweat, you are going out there to get things done,” added Brady, who led the league in passing yards, passing touchdowns and completions last season. Aside from having the best wide receiver duo in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, the Buccaneers also signed Russell Gage to a three-year deal worth $30 million to be their third option for Brady.
Gage will also have to temporarily fill Godwin’s spot as latter recovers from a surgery to repair a season-ending injury. The Buccaneers also brought back top rusher Leonard Fournette to a three-year deal reportedly worth more than $24 million with incentives.
Brady says it would be up to Gronk to decide
Another Brady’s target – tight end Rob Gronkowski – has yet to decide on whether to return to the Buccaneers or retire from competitive football.
Gronkowski came out of retirement two seasons ago and joined Brady in Tampa Bay, providing the Buccaneers with a veteran presence in the position. However, Gronkowski recently said that he has yet to decide on whether he would play this season. For Brady, it would be up to Gronkowski to decide on his future in the NFL. “I think it’s just obviously totally up to him and we’d all obviously love to play with him but he’s got to make the best decision for himself and he knows that,” Brady said, per Pro Football Talk. Brady said Gronkowski has six weeks to decide if he would return or not before training camp starts.
