Tom Brady is back with the Buccaneers after a lengthy and unexplained absence from training camp. But he returns on the heels of another revelation that Tampa Bay wasn’t his first choice.
More and more, it looks like the Buccaneers were, and still are, a fallback option. That’s obviously a trade-off they will take, considering Brady has led them to a Super Bowl championship and two straight playoff appearances.
But it’s apparent Brady views himself as nothing more than a mercenary. After 20 years of toeing Bill Belichick’s stringent line, Brady is looking out for No. 12.
The questions continue to pile up.
The latest shocking revelation came Saturday night, when UFC owner Dana White revealed on live TV that he helped orchestrate a nearly successful recruiting pitch to bring Brady and Rob Gronkowski to Las Vegas. A deal was in place, but then-Raiders head coach Jon Gruden nixed the idea.
Gronk, who appeared alongside White on a special “UFC 278 with the Gronks" broadcast, confirmed the bombastic fighting mogul’s story.
“That’s exactly what happened,” he said.
We now know Brady wanted to play for at least two teams, the Raiders and Dolphins, before he signed with the Buccaneers in March 2020. As it turns out, Derek Carr is “that mother******” whom an undisclosed team wanted to keep under center instead of signing the greatest of all-time.
That is, unless Brady had his eyes on additional clubs. It wouldn’t be surprising.
An NFL investigation revealed that Brady started negotiating with the Dolphins as far back as August 2019 — predating his final season in New England. While the Patriots started 8-0, there was always an uneasy feeling around Foxborough that fall. At one point, Brady referred to himself as the “most miserable” undefeated quarterback in the NFL.
Brady seemed pretty miserable following the chaotic end to Tampa Bay’s 2021 season. Rife with injuries — and on the heels of a public blowup with Brady’s former pal, Antonio Brown — the Bucs fell to the Rams in the Divisional Round. Brady led them back from a 27-3 deficit, but their pass defense faltered in the final seconds of regulation, leaving Cooper Kupp uncovered down the field to set up the game-winning field goal.
After the game, Brady told reporters he was taking his future “day by day” — hardly an endorsement about his desire to come back. Then just a couple of weeks later, Brady retired … for 40 days.
Over the ensuing months, we’ve learned that Brady was carrying out talks with the Dolphins to join them as a minority owner, and maybe suit up once his contract with the Buccaneers expired. The coup apparently would’ve happened, too, if Brian Flores didn’t sue Miami for discrimination.
With the Dolphins imploding, Brady went back to the Bucs, on one apparent condition. Bruce Arians stepped down as Tampa Bay’s head coach shortly after Brady announced his comeback.
Todd Bowles, Arians’ replacement, was opaque when discussing Brady’s mysterious hiatus. While the Bucs insisted the break was pre-planned, Bowles offered no guarantees of any actual return date. Last Thursday, he said there was “no definitive date” in his mind.
Conspiracies filled the information vacuum, including a detailed Reddit thread explaining that Brady may have been off filming a new season of FOX’ “Masked Singer.” Amidst all of the retiring and unretiring, Brady also signed a $375 million deal with FOX Sports to serve as its lead NFL analyst and a network ambassador once his career ends — whenever that happens.
Previously, the notion that Brady would skip valuable training camp time to participate in a low-grade and cheesy reality show would’ve been ridiculous. But this is the new Brady, who’s launched a new clothing line (BRADY ™) and produced a nine-part docuseries about himself since joining the Bucs.
Brady once declared opponents “better be willing” to give up their lives when playing against him. But the same adage no longer applies to him.
On Monday, Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network reported Brady’s 11-day absence was due to a family trip in the Bahamas. If true, that’s astonishing. The Bahamas were open for business in March, April, May, June and July.
Yet, Brady decided to take off in mid-August, when his team needed him. Surely, Gisele and Brady would’ve been able to rebook their exclusive vacay if they wanted.
But Brady chose himself above the Bucs. That makes sense, considering the Bucs have never been at the front of his mind.
For the first time, Brady’s commitment is no longer a guarantee.
