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NFL 2022: The biggest weakness of each NFC South team

By Lucas Schuh

TAMPA, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 19: Tom Brady #12 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fumbles the ball as he is hit by Cameron Jordan #94 of the New Orleans Saints during the 4th quarter of the game at Raymond James Stadium on December 19, 2021 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 19: Tom Brady #12 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fumbles the ball as he is hit by Cameron Jordan #94 of the New Orleans Saints during the 4th quarter of the game at Raymond James Stadium on December 19, 2021 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) /
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There has been a lot of movement going on in the NFC South, but what is the biggest weakness of each team?

The NFC South as a whole wasn’t one of the strongest divisions in the NFL last season. While they were a poor division, there was still plenty of news surrounding their teams this offseason.

For starters, we have the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tom Brady. The Buccaneers had a strong 2021 season as they won the NFC South with a record of 13-4, a record that allowed them to win the NFC South fairly handily.

NFL 2022
Jan 16, 2022; Tampa, Florida, USA;Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans (13) is congratulated by Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) as he scores a touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles defends during the second half in a NFC Wild Card playoff football game at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

The Bucs would defeat the Eagles in the wild-card round but would lose to the future Super Bowl Champion Los Angeles Rams after the Rams kicked a late field goal to help them win the game 30-27.

With Brady getting older and older, there were rumors of what Brady might do. Brady announced his retirement on February 1, 2022. Not 40 days later and Tom Brady announced that he was coming out of retirement as he rejoined the Buccaneers franchise.

Brady is currently without his long-time tight end Rob Gronkowski as he is currently retired.

There was some other QB news in the NFC South as the Atlanta Falcons made some QB noise. After having one an MVP with the Falcons, and helping guide them to the Super Bowl, Matt Ryan was traded to the Indianapolis Colts for a 3rd round pick.

It wasn’t too shocking, especially since in the previous four seasons, the Falcons have had a losing season in each.

With Ryan now out of Atlanta, the Falcons needed a new QB, and they addressed that issue during the NFL Draft. Atalanta drafted QB Desmond Ridder out of Cinncainti in the 3rd round of the NFL draft.

Ridder likely won’t be seeing a lot of playing time in his first season as the Falcons have brought in Marcus Mariota, but he will likely be battling for the starting job come next year.

While there weren’t major moves for the Saints QB position this year, there were other major moves out of New Orleans. After the 2021 season, it was announced that long-time Saints head coach Sean Payton would be stepping down from the head coaching job in New Orleans.

This move came a year after former Saints QB Drew Brees announced his retirement from the NFL.

There were rumors that the Miami Dolphins wanted to interview Payton to become their head coach, and that they allegedly offered him a contract worth $100 million.

The Dolphins were denied the opportunity to interview Payton, and ultimately the possible reality of this never came to fruition.

Compared to the other NFC South teams, the Panthers had a relatively quiet offseason. Carolina resigned DJ Moore, while also bringing in the likes of Corey Littleton, Matt Ioannidis, and Johnny Hekker. The only big shocking news out of Carolina was the drafting of Matt Corral out of Ole Miss.

With how much Sam Darnold struggled this past season, it wasn’t a complete shock to see the Panthers draft Corral in the 3rd round, the only question is how much pressure can he put on Darnold, and how quickly can he do it.

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