After telling the New England Patriots he would not return to the team for the 2020 season, it has been reported by ESPN that Tom Brady has agreed to sign a 2-year 30 million dollar contract with my home town Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This will be great not only for the Bucs organization but also for the fans of Tampa Bay who have been looking for a savior at QB ever since the team fumbled the Doug Williams deal back in the eighties.
For me this is bittersweet. I am a lifelong Patriots fan but was also born and raised in the Tampa Bay Area so the Bucs are my second team. It’s crazy to think that my all time favorite player is now a member of my home town franchise. The Pats are still my love but the Bucs are now like my side chick team. As someone who was already contemplating getting 2020 season passes due to my enjoyment of the Tampa Bay Vipers games, the signing of my all time favorite player to my home town team might just put me over the edge.
The off-seasons for both teams has been night and day. The Pats did nothing that would entice Brady to stay in their anemic offense for another season letting big name WR Stefon Diggs going to division rival Buffalo Bills for peanuts. The Bucs locked up both of their top defensive pieces Shaq Barrett and JPP, the latter being the leagues sack leader and breaker of Buc legend Warren Sapp’s franchise record. The offense is stacked with my personal favorite WR Mike Evans and Chris Godwin both making pro bowls last year, and Breshad Perriman making some big plays after Evans was injured. Instead of wasting money to see if Jameis improve off of last years 30 TDS for 30 Ints performance, the Bucs went all in on Brady. If worst comes to worst they just draft a QB to sit behind him for two seasons which will help the future of the organization. With Bruce Arians at the helm for his second season, I feel the offense will be even more high powered, without the threat of Jameis pick six.
I think this was a great move by the Tampa Buccaneers organization who after 40 years finally made a great decision at QB. Brady will not only help the team get over the playoff hump but I feel his goal is to be the first QB to play a super bowl in front of his hometown crowd which is a possibility this season with the Super Bowl held in Tampa this season. As a Tampa Bay Area native I am tired of Tampa teams being laughed at and not taken seriously, my hope is that TB12 will continue his leadership not only on the field but also in the Tampa Bay community, raising the flag as the captain of the ship.