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How Tom Brady returning to Tampa Bay Buccaneers impacts the offseason

By Jacob Ellerbee

2023 NFL Free Agency: Tom Brady #12 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throws a pass against the Philadelphia Eagles in the first half of the NFC Wild Card Playoff game at Raymond James Stadium on January 16, 2022 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
2023 NFL Free Agency: Tom Brady #12 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throws a pass against the Philadelphia Eagles in the first half of the NFC Wild Card Playoff game at Raymond James Stadium on January 16, 2022 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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Tom Brady is officially un-retiring and will compete with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in his 23rd NFL season. Here’s how his return impacts the offseason

One of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play in the NFL, Tom Brady, announced on March 13 that he has decided to “un-retire” and come back to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in what will be his 23rd season playing professional football.

There had been rumors swirling all offseason that the Bucs would be looking at all sorts of options at quarterback for next season. The team was confident and prepared that reserve QB Kyle Trask would be able to compete and possibly earn the starting job for 2022.

When Tampa Bay Head Coach Bruce Arians was asked about the possibility of trading Tom Brady to another team this offseason, he said the team would never do that and called it “bad business.”

But, that’s not something the team will have to worry about since the QB will be competing next season with Tampa Bay, per his own words.

How Tom Brady’s return impacts free agents and the rest of the offseason

We know star WR Chris Godwin will be returning to the team after the team placed the franchise tag on his contract, bringing him back for at least one more season.

The team’s attention will now turn to bringing back some of the key offensive contributors from last season to ensure TB12 has his familiar weapons to run it back in 2022.

We’re talking about guys who are unrestricted free agents like TE Rob Gronkowski, RB Leonard Fournette, RB Ronald Jones II, and C Ryan Jensen.

The Tampa Bay Bucs, who were considered to be one of the handful of teams most likely to land star QB Deshaun Watson just hours before Brady’s return announcement, will now be pulling themselves out of those sweepstakes.

The Bucs aren’t projected to have much cap space, but the Glazer (the owners of the franchise) may be willing to dig deep into their pocketbooks to try and sign a couple of marquee free agents to push all their chips into the middle of the table for a run at another Super Bowl.

Now that Tom Brady is in the fold, would someone like WR Allen Robinson want to join the Bucs to give Tom Brady another elite weapon on offense?

Brady’s aura and winning track record could also entice key free agent defenders to join Tampa Bay. Would CB Stephon Gillmore, S Tyrann Mathieu or LB Bobby Wagner want to head to Florida and instantly compete for a Super Bowl next season?

All bets are off now that Brady is coming back to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the 2022 season. Free agency just got a whole lot more interesting, that’s for sure.

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