Buccaneers were destined for a mass exodus once Tom Brady retired
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers may have been a bit surprised when Tom Brady decided to retire. Well, as the timeline goes, the news of his retirement was first leaked, and then he later confirmed it to the world.
Brady hung up his cleats at 44 years of age following his and the Buccanneers' elimination from the Divisional Round of this year's playoffs. His retirement comes despite the fact that Brady had previously talked about playing until the age of 50. It ultimately seems that spending more time with family was the root cause of his decision to finally walk away from pro football after 22 seasons.
Yes, he can always return, but the new NFL league year is approaching, and the Buccaneers cannot sit around and wait to make moves. The same is true for the long list of unrestricted free agents on their roster.
2021 #Buccaneers Starters
QB1: Retired
RB1: UFA
RB2: UFA
WR1: Thru ‘23
WR2: UFA
TE1: UFA
TE2: UFA
LT: Thru ’23
LG: Retired
C: UFA
RG: UFA
RT: Thru ’24
DE: UFA
DT: Thru ’26
DE: UFA
OLB: UFA
ILB: Thru’ 23
ILB: Thru ’22
OLB: Thru ’24
CB: UFA
S: UFA
S: Thru ’22
CB: Thru ’22
On that note, more bad news may be coming for fans in Tampa Bay. It was easy to sign up to play alongside Brady in 2020 and 2021. But now that he is gone? The short-term focus on winning a Super Bowl means a mass exodus is likely to come for the franchise.
The Buccaneers went all in with Tom Brady and will now pay the price
Although Brady's retirement came as a surprise, it was always a possibility. What may have shocked fans even more, however, was guard Ali Marpet calling it a career before the age of 30. He saw his quarterback leave and decided there was no better time than the present to seek a new venture in life.
Thank you for an amazing seven years, Ali https://t.co/HlzDU0SmCd
But it is not just retirements the team has had to worry about ahead of the upcoming season. As ESPN's Field Yates pointed out, some big names could leave via free agency as well.
The offense in particular could be hit hard, especially up front as Ryan Jensen and Alex Cappa could sign elsewhere. Star receiver Chris Godwin is also a free agent and Rob Gronkowski is a long-shot to return with his quarterback gone. The team also has its three top running backs set for new deals.
The Bucs have now had two major retirements on offense this offseason in Tom Brady & Ali Marpet.
Offensive players currently scheduled to be a free agent: WR Chris Godwin, C Ryan Jensen, G Alex Cappa, TEs Rob Gronkowski/OJ Howard, RBs Leonard Fournette/Ronald Jones/Gio Bernard.
But was the front office surprised? They went for a short-term approach and it paid off immediately with a Super Bowl victory in 2020. That was just the price they paid to lure in Brady and convince so many others to sign up for the same quest.
So what comes next for the franchise? That may all depend on who they start under center in 2022. But unless they trade for a big name on the first day of the league year, key players may be gone by the time they have a new signal-caller in place.
Ultimately though, it appears the price was worth it. The team won a title and could still land a quarterback like Jimmy Garoppolo this offseason if they want. Or they could give players like Kyle Trask or Blaine Gabbert a shot.
They probably won't lure in top talent this year, but starting either of their back-ups could allow the team to evaluate and rebuild for 2023. With Brady gone, that may be the best option for sustained success.
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