Let the sweepstakes for Tom Brady commence. The all-time great is an unrestricted free agent, and seems certain to play next season.
The last time this happened, many teams passed over Brady following a subpar campaign, and now look incredibly foolish. As an undisclosed club stuck with, to quote Brady, “that motherf—,” Brady led the Buccaneers to a Super Bowl win and three straight playoff appearances. Last season, he led the league in touchdown passes.
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But following Tampa Bay’s dreadful 31-14 loss to the Cowboys Monday night, it seems like history could repeat itself, at least in one sense. After a turbulent season filled with off-field drama and on-field misery, it’s uncertain how many teams actually view Brady as an upgrade.
This time, the doubters may be right.
There are reasons to believe that Brady could bounce back in a better situation. The Buccaneers were a poorly coached team this season, and could dismiss their embattled offensive coordinator, Byron Leftwich. Their injury-ravaged offensive line was held together with scotch tape, and as a result, Brady seldom had time to throw. On most plays, it was all about survival.
The few bright spots of Brady’s season often occurred late in games, when the Bucs were trailing and forced to run their hurry-up offense. In other words, Brady took control of the playbook, and played like his old self. He engineered five game-winning drives and four fourth-quarter comebacks. Those wins saved Tampa Bay’s season.
But on Monday night, when it mattered most, Brady was a dud — like he was for most of the year. The majority of his 66 throws were poorly executed check downs and short underneath passes. Embarrassingly, his most memorable play was a dirty slide tackle attempt during a Cowboys fumble return.
Following the game, Brady sounded like he played his last game with the Bucs. His post-game presser ended with an apparent goodbye.
“I love this organization. It's a great place to be. Thank you everybody for welcoming me,” he said. “Just very grateful for the respect and I hope I gave it back to you guys.”
Just last year, those words would’ve been a cause for panic. To lure Brady back from retirement, the Bucs kicked Bruce Arians upstairs, and granted Brady even more autonomy. He missed a sizable chunk of training camp to reportedly try and repair his marriage with Gisele Bundchen.
He also missed the Bucs’ Saturday walkthrough before their Week 6 loss against the Steelers, because he slept over in New York City after attending Robert Kraft’s wedding.
Brady struggled in that game, and was spotted screaming at his inexperienced offensive linemen on the sideline.
In other words, it’s debatable whether luring Brady back was worth the sacrifice. The Bucs may better off with, say, Derek Carr at quarterback next season — and maybe a returning Arians.
Southeast of Tampa Bay, the Dolphins are probably asking themselves similar questions about Brady. They’ve been in a clandestine courtship with him for years, dating back to August 2019. Reports say the Dolphins were prepared to acquire Brady last year and pair him with Sean Payton. Brian Flores’ lawsuit apparently scuttled those plans.
But now, the Dolphins have already committed to Tua Tagovailoa for 2023. That commitment may not be ironclad, but if Tagovailoa is recovered, there’s an argument to be made he’s a better option than Brady. Midway through the season, Tagovailoa was playing like an MVP candidate under new-age offensive wizard Mike McDaniel (if only he could get plays in on time).
There are other teams to consider. NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport says the Titans, 49ers and Raiders are also expected to pursue TB12. But frankly, it’s hard to fathom Kyle Shanahan turning over his successful operation to Brady, especially with Brock Purdy’s success.
That leaves the Titans and Raiders, who started Joshua Dobbs and Jarrett Stidham at quarterback to close out their seasons. Brady is clearly an upgrade over those guys.
But at this point, that’s not saying much. Josh McDaniels’ expected run at Brady could be viewed as more desperate than anything else.
He might need Brady to save his head coaching career, and Brady might need him to keep on playing football at 46 years old. Any team that signs Brady could be entering a marriage of necessity, rather than desire.