Brady is not worth the money he’s getting in Tampa
BY COLIN DAVERN
After 20 seasons with the New England Patriots and being drafted when I was a newborn, Tom Brady will wear a new uniform in 2020.
The legendary quarterback signed a two-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers worth $50 million in guarantees. There is also $9 million in incentives as part of the deal.
With wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin catching passes from Brady, many bettors are putting big money on the Buccaneers to go far in 2020, but this is all mostly overblown. While Brady is likely a better option than five-year quarterback turnover machine Jameis Winston, he won’t be enough to bring Tampa to the level of a Super Bowl contender.
The most obvious flaw for Brady right now is his age. He will be 43 years old by the start of the upcoming season, and he showed a clear inability to take over games in 2019. If his receivers weren’t playing out of their minds, the Patriots could no longer count on Brady to get the job done.
With a worse roster around him, minus the wide receivers, in Tampa, he’s only going to regress further. Tampa’s defense was fourth-worst in points against in 2019, and it’s not going to suddenly become a top-five unit this year. It was also ninth-worst in the league in rushing yards per game, which shows just how reliant the team is on the passing game.
A Super Bowl contender is not as reliant on one area of play as the Buccaneers are with the passing game, and it puts even more pressure on an old immobile quarterback to play at MVP levels, which he no longer has the ability to do.
Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers could become the closest equivalent we’ve seen to Michael Jordan and the Washington Wizards; A mediocre at best team with a legend in the twilight of his career.
It’s good Tom Brady got paid, he deserved it
BY JACOB STEINBERG
As if this month hasn’t been crazy enough, Tom Brady is now the quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Last Tuesday, it was announced that Brady, once the face of the New England Patriots franchise, signed a two-year deal with the team that can net him $59 million, with 50 million guaranteed.
Despite his age, the contract is perfectly reasonable for both sides. It’s a short-term deal that doesn’t tie the Bucs to an aging quarterback for the long term. It also allows the team to draft a quarterback in a year or two. It’s a team-friendly deal, but different than the ones Brady has signed with the Patriots over the years.
Whereas Colin argues that the Bucs’ roster is inferior to the Patriots, Brady has much more to work with on the offense than just Julian Edelman. The Bucs’ offense includes one of the best wide receiver duos in football in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, both of whom put up 1,000 plus receiving yards last season, plus an underrated tight end duo of Cameron Brate and OJ Howard.
Plus, the Bucs defense never gets the credit they deserve for their drastic improvements last year. Defensive coordinator Todd Bowles is one of the top coordinators in the league. Last year, their defense went from last in defensive Defense-adjusted Value Over Average (DVOA) to fifth in the entire league.
Also, head coach Bruce Arians has a proven history of getting the most out of quarterbacks. He has coached Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Andrew Luck and Carson Palmer. If Arians could get turnover-prone Jameis Winston to put up the best statistical season of his career, despite throwing 30 interceptions, there is no reason to believe that he can’t get the most out of an aging Brady. I believe anyone can thrive in the quarterback-friendly system.
This deal is proof that scouts and executives believe the cause of Brady’s subpar 2019 season was the poor supporting cast around him. In Tampa, Brady should be able to take advantage of a late-career change of scenery. With a better supporting cast and a known quarterback guru coaching him, Brady can definitely play at MVP form once again and help the Bucs get closer to a championship.
