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Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady officially announced his retirement on Tuesday after a 22 year NFL career. Brady won seven Super Bowls in his career and is widely regarded as the greatest football player of all time. Now, the Bucs are tasked with trying to replace the man who brought them their first Super Bowl since 2003.
Bucs Quarterback Situation
Jason Licht, the Buccaneers General Manager, commented on their quarterback situation Wednesday and his reaction to Brady’s retirement.
Licht insinuates that the situation the organization faces is similar to when they landed Brady a couple of years ago. They were in the market for a quarterback to elevate their team and then Brady signed with them in free agency. Now, the Bucs are back in search of a quarterback again just two seasons later.
With Brady retiring and backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert becoming an unrestricted free agent, the lone quarterback on the Bucs’ roster next year is former Gator and second-round pick Kyle Trask. Licht commented on Trask’s development on Wednesday.
Licht and the Bucs are excited about Trask’s development, but is that enough to give him the starting job? At the end of his statement, he reaffirmed that they will explore all options for the quarterback position. If they don’t believe Trask can start yet, multiple veteran quarterbacks have been rumored to be traded this offseason.
Trade Options
This offseason could bring a change of scenery for some of the league’s biggest stars. Most notably, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers sat out of training camp last season due to his disagreement with how the Packers were being run. There were reports that he threatened retirement, but he eventually came to a new contract agreement with the Packers.
The deal shortened Rodgers’ contract by a year making his final year the 2022 season. The cap hit for the team would be north of $40 million dollars if he plays that final year. Paying more than $40 million dollars on one player is crippling to a team, giving Rodgers leverage for the team to trade him this offseason to offload his contract.
Rodgers is just one of the many quarterbacks seeking a trade this offseason. Jimmy Garoppolo and the 49ers are expected to mutually part ways and trade Garoppolo out of San Francisco after making it to the NFC Championship.
Jimmy Garoppolo says he expects to be traded from the San Francisco 49ers and he wants to be sent to a winning situation:https://t.co/RsXWmlHXWC
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 2, 2022
The 49ers drafted Trey Lance with the third overall pick in last year’s draft, making Garoppolo expendable. Garoppolo hopes for a trade to a winning situation. The Bucs definitely fit that description.
More Trade Speculation
Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson sat this last season out after demanding a trade. He is an option for the Bucs but he does have several legal issues that he is dealing with outside of football. Rumors say that Seahawks Quarterback Russell Wilson is open to a trade from Seattle if the right opportunity arose.
Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins and Raiders quarterback Derek Carr could be on the move as well with their teams just hiring new general managers and head coaches. Both quarterbacks have big contracts and new management could look to move them if they don’t see them as part of the future.
The Buccaneers have many options at the quarterback position, only time will tell what direction they go with this offseason.
