The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are now in the market for a new quarterback. That need comes off the heels of Tom Brady officially announcing his retirement from the NFL earlier this week, marking the end to his 22-year career and his two-year stint as quarterback of the Bucs.
While brief, Brady's tenure in Tampa was wildly successful. The team went a combined 24-9 in the last two regular seasons and was able to win Super Bowl LV during the 2020 season. This year, they won the NFC South for the first time since 2007 thanks to a 13-4 regular-season record. Brady also played at an MVP level, leading the NFL in passing yards and passing touchdowns in 2021.
Naturally, that's a GOAT-sized hole to fill for the Buccaneers, but there does seem to be confidence in the locker room that they'll be able to figure out the quarterback position and still be a force in the NFC.
"We most definitely are still going to be contenders," said linebacker Shaq Barrett, via the official team website. "We've still got a lot of guys on the team who are hungry to have a taste of being in the playoffs, to have a taste of winning a Super Bowl. And I know the front office guys, they loved having a taste of the success that we had. So if anything, it's a replication. Whoever it takes, we're going to get those guys, and then the guys are going to make it happen, whatever we have to do. The offense has got to pick it up, the defense has got to pick it up, the special teams – whatever it is, we're going to make it happen."
Barrett said that he didn't try to convince Brady to return, but did tell him that he would love to have him back if that's what he chose to do. Of course, Brady decided to hang up his helmet, leaving the Bucs in need of a new QB.
"Trying to find somebody to replace Tom Brady is impossible," said Barrett. "There's no other Tom Bradys out there. So we're going to try to find the next best player and help them be the best person they can be, and then rally around him and try to build a contender again."
2021 second-round pick Kyle Trask is currently the only quarterback under contract for next season with Blaine Gabbert slated to be an unrestricted free agent. While Tampa Bay could look to promote from within with either one of those signal-callers, they could also dip their toes in the free agent/trade market to see what's behind that door. After all, when they did that back in 2020, they fetched a pretty good haul in Brady. Can they replicate that this offseason? We'll soon find out.
