More trouble brewing for Buccaneers following Tom Brady's retirement
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers may have thought Tom Brady's retirement would be the only major news the team would deal with this offseason. That idea went out the window Sunday when offensive guard Ali Marpet announced his retirement before reaching the age of 30.
That marks two key players on offense retiring in the last few weeks. While Bucs fans may think the worst is over, that may, unfortunately, not be true.
Bucs now potentially have major turnover on their offensive line, with Marpet retiring, and center Ryan Jensen and guard Alex Cappa both due to be unrestricted free agents.
Buccaneers beat reporter Geg Auman explained how center Ryan Jensen and guard Alex Cappa can both sign elsewhere as unrestricted free agents this year. And with Brady gone, they may decide to bolt now that the offense is clearly going through a major state of transition.
Losing Brady was one thing. But losing three starting offensive linemen means it will be tough to lure another top quarterback to Tampa Bay. Any hope of the GOAT returning may be gone, too, with all this projected turnover.
And that is just the offensive line. ESPN's Field Yates pointed out how the entire offense could look different in 2022.
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.
Star receiver Chris Godwin could leave in free agency. Meanwhile, no one knows Rob Gronkowski's plans at this point. The team could also lose all three of its running backs to free agency.
That means this team could look much different in 2022 and may not even be built to compete for a playoff spot. The front office had to know this was a possibility.
The Buccaneers had a short-term vision in place
Brady headed to Tampa Bay, and while there were dreams of him playing until he was 50, retiring within a year or two was always a possibility. Yet he was able to build up hype and excitement upon arrival and after winning the Super Bowl during the 2020 season.
That is why the front office was able to retain every starter from that championship team. Everyone was hungry for another and knew it was possible with Brady leading the way.
But that short-term approach means players may now want out after signing short-term deals in pursuit of back-to-back titles. A tweet from Spotrac shows just how dire the situation is for the franchise.
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
Two starters have retired and 12 others are unrestricted free agents. So unless the team swings a miracle deal for Russell Wilson or Aaron Rodgers, change is going to come given the uncertainty at the quarterback position.
This is just the deal Buccaneers management made. They were going to be contenders as long as Brady was around, and they would have to deal with all the consequences later. Well, that time is now, and the team may be scrambling to stay competitive in 2022.
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