Tom Brady came out of retirement and what it means for the bay. (1:35) He announced his retirement from the NFL almost six weeks ago, and on the eve of an NFL free agency that threatens to dismantle a roster that was almost completely intact last season from their 2020 Super Bowl championship. It would include making another run at a championship after leading the NFL in just about every major statistical category at the age of 44 last season and coming within a breath of beating the eventual Super Bowl-champion Los Angeles Rams in the NFC divisional round before the Rams kicked a last-second field goal While several teams in the National Football League are in a real bind with demand exceeding supply at the quarterback position, the general manager of the Bucs said two weeks ago at the NFL combine that they should leave a light on. Can the Bucs win another title with Brady?
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Without Brady, the Bucs had no clear starter at quarterback. The coaching staff did not feel that Kyle Trask, who spent the 2021 season leading the scout team, would compete for the starting job.
He doesn't have to be right now, and the Bucs don't have to try and get Deshaun. The Houston Texans quarterback was cleared of all charges by a grand jury, but the Bucs didn't feel good about the situation.
It would have been out of character for them to spend a large number of draft picks on a trade.
The first domino to fall was center Ryan Jensen, who agreed to a three-year deal worth $39 million. Jensen will make an average of $13 million per year, but he could have made more on the open market. Brady called Jensen on Sunday to let him know he was coming back.
The franchise tag was already applied to wide receiver Chris Godwin by the Bucs before the deadline so they would have one of Brady's favorite targets back for at least one more year.
Some of their talent, such as tight end Rob Gronkowski, Cornerback Carlton Davis, right guard Alex Cappa, safety Jordan Whitehead, running back Leonard Fournette, defensive linemen William Gholston and Ndamukong Suh, are hard to retain.
The lure of competing for a title and doing so with arguably the greatest quarterback of all time is what allowed the Bucs to return all 22 starters from their Super Bowl roster last season. They won't be able to bring back everyone.
The retirement of left guard Ali Marpet and the restructuring of left guard Vita Vea have allowed the Bucs to create slightly more salary cap space. They are still in the red, but only slightly, and have until Wednesday to get there.
Brady will have to do it with one of the toughest schedules of any team in the league because he will get the retirement tour he said he didn't want. The actual dates won't be announced until April, but in addition to their opponents in the South, the Bucs will face the Rams, Cincinnati, Cincinnati, San Francisco, Arizona, Dallas, Green Bay, Packers, Kansas City, and Baltimore Ravens.
Brady has previously said that he wanted to play until he was 45. Brady has been compared to Nolan Ryan because he decided to call it quits after 27 years.
Brady would not be able to do this without the support of his family. They were a key reason Brady retired in the first place and he posted a picture of them when he announced his unretirement. None of this is possible without them.
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