"We would've turned over every stone" - Bruce Arians reveals Buccaneers backup plan if Tom Brady didn't come out of retirement
If quarterback Tom Brady had stayed retired, Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians would've explored every option possible.
Arians spoke to Steve Wyche of the NFL Network at the league meetings in Florida about Tampa Bay exhausting every option if the 44-year-old quarterback remained retired:
“We had started to uncover as many stones as we possibly could. We would’ve turned over every stone... [G.M.] Jason [Licht] did his calls. We were in the midst of all that stuff when Tom decided to come back and thank God we could say, ‘No, thanks, brother. We’re out of it.'”
Bucs were ready to look anywhere and everywhere for their next QB if Tom Brady hadn't unretired two weeks ago today (and, yes, it was only two weeks ago). wp.me/pbBqYq-ceOv
Stones being turned over included just free agents like Teddy Bridgewater, who signed a one-year, $6,500,000 contract with the Miami Dolphins this offseason. Bridgewater was the Buccaneers' backup option to the 15-time Pro Bowler in 2020.
These other proverbial stones also included trading for quarterbacks, such as Deshaun Watson, who was traded to the Cleveland Browns, and the Browns' other quarterback Baker Mayfield.
Brady realized that Tampa Bay would soon be forced to make a choice that would make it difficult for him to return to the Buccaneers this year.
Given the team’s clear unwillingness to move him or let him walk away to another franchise, Brady came to the realization that, if he was going to play in 2022, he would have to remain where he was.
As for the chances of the three-time NFL MVP wanting to continue his career elsewhere, the 69-year-old coach discredited and shut down such talk, saying:
“I have no clue where it comes from. Somebody’s got to write a story every day about something. Tom and I have a great relationship. Even during the retirement: ‘Where you at?’ ‘I’m in Italy.’ ‘How’s it going?’ ‘Got the kids over here.’ You know, just checking on him. I can’t get him back on the golf course because he’s traveling too much, so I can’t win enough money off of him.”
Tom Brady entering his 23rd season
When the 2022 season starts, the seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback will be the oldest quarterback to ever start a regular-season game in NFL history at age 45.
The record is held by Steve DeBerg, who was 44 years and 342 days old when he was under center for the Atlanta Falcons in Week 17 of the 1998 season versus the Dolphins.
"Are you out of your mind?"
Since '98, Steve DeBerg has held the record for oldest QB to start an NFL game. With that soon set to fall (thanks, Tom), here's a look at DeBerg's audacious comeback, featuring a lot of columnists firing off Old Guy jokes:
si.com/nfl/2022/03/24…
What will the upcoming season have in store for Brady and Tampa Bay? We’ll see when the 103rd season of the NFL starts this fall.