The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a somewhat unexpected hole to fill at the quarterback position this offseason. Following their loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, Tom Brady announced that he will be retiring from the NFL.
It was a surprise as Brady has stated previously he would play until he couldn’t anymore. He showed no signs of slowing down as he was back in the MVP race once again with his performance in 2021, leading the league in completions, attempts, yards and touchdowns.
Without Brady, there will be some major adjustments offensively for the Buccaneers. It could also influence the decision of their free agents. Leonard Fournette, Chris Godwin and Rob Gronkowski are all free agents and without Brady in the fold, could look to move on.
Replacing Brady will be a monumental task for whoever is tabbed as the next starter as he is the greatest quarterback of all time. With limited resources to spend on a replacement, Jason Licht will have to get creative when finding his next starting quarterback.
One NFL executive thinks the Buccaneers won’t be making a big splash for a quarterback this offseason. Instead, a seasoned veteran or young player looking for another chance to start could be who they target instead.
“Don’t count on the Bucs making a big-time trade for a quarterback. More likely than that would be bringing in a guy like Teddy Bridgewater or Mitchell Trubisky. They’re comfortable with Kyle Trask having a chance to start.”
You can likely cross the Buccaneers off the list for players such as Deshaun Watson, Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson based on what the executive said. But, would Jimmy Garoppolo qualify? With the San Francisco 49ers looking to hand the starting job over to Trey Lance, Garoppolo is available for trade and could be a good stopgap option for Tampa Bay.
Teddy Bridgewater and Mitchell Trubiksy are solid options as well. They can be brought in to compete with Kyle Trask. If the team is as high on Trask as the executive says, they are high-end backups that can step in should he struggle or prove not ready to take over as the starter just yet.
With Bruce Arians and Byron Leftwich running the offense, whoever takes over as the starter is in good hands. They are both bright offensive minds and will put their quarterback, whoever it may be, in a position to succeed.