Buccaneers Officially Sign Tom Brady
Tom Brady verbally agreed to sign with the Buccaneers on Tuesday. On Friday morning, the Bucs made it official: 
“Tom Brady is officially a Tampa Bay Buccaneer!,” the club tweeted.
Brady, like the rest of the league’s free agents, was unable to take a physical exam with team doctors due to the travel restrictions. On Thursday, there were rumblings of a possible hitch – Brady was willing to get poked and prodded in New York, but the two sides had to agree on the doctor. Haggling over the MD turned out to be NBD: Brady is officially a Buc.
The future Hall of Famer has agreed to a two-year deal with a maximum value of $59MM, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter). The deal includes $50MM fully guaranteed – a nice locked-in pay day for one of the sport’s all-time legends.
“Excited, humble and hungry …if there is one thing I have learned about football, it’s that nobody cares what you did last year or the year before that,” Brady wrote on Instagram. “You earn the trust and respect of those around through your commitment every single day. I’m starting a new football journey and thankful for the Buccaneers for giving me an opportunity to do what I love to do. I look forward to meeting all my new teammates and coaches and proving to them that they can believe and trust in me. I have always believed that well done is better than well said, so I’m not gonna say much more – I’m just gonna get to work!”
The Buccaneers, as you might expect, are also pretty excited about their new QB.
“Tom is a proven champion who has achieved greatness on the field because he demands the best out of himself and his teammates,” said GM Jason Licht in a press release. “I’ve known Tom since we drafted him in New England 20 years ago and through this process it became very clear that his desire to be a champion burns as strong today as it ever has. He possesses the type of rare natural leadership qualities that will immediately impact our entire organization.”
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/19/20
We’ll keep track of today’s “minor” moves here:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: WR Keith Kirkwood
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: CB Torry McTyer
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: KR/PR Jojo Natson
Dallas Cowboys
- Re-signed: LB Justin March-Lillard
Green Bay Packers
- Re-signed: CB Will Redmond
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: S Adrian Colbert
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Re-signed: WR Bryant Mitchell
Washington Redskins
- Signed: TE Logan Thomas
Buccaneers To Re-Sign Nunez-Roches
The Buccaneers will bring back one of their rotational defensive linemen. They are re-signing Rakeem Nunez-Roches, per Adam Caplan of Sirius XM Radio (on Twitter).
Nunez-Roches’ one-year deal is worth up to $2.25MM, per Caplan, who adds the five-year veteran interior defender will receive $1MM guaranteed.
The former Chiefs draftee has been with the Bucs for two seasons, coming to Tampa during Dirk Koetter‘s run and staying on in Todd Bowles‘ 3-4 scheme. He began his career working as a 3-4 player in Kansas City, and Tampa Bay used the 26-year-old defender on 293 defensive snaps last season.
Beau Allen‘s defection to the Patriots earlier this week may open up more time for Nunez-Roches. The Bucs are interested in bringing back Ndamukong Suh as well.
Bucs Unlikely To Consider Antonio Brown
Tom Brady and Antonio Brown played one game together, but the future Hall of Fame quarterback and a wideout who was on course for Canton have been linked to a reunion on multiple occasions this offseason. Don’t count on it coming to pass, however.
The Buccaneers are unlikely to consider a deal for Brown, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (video link). Brady is set to sign with the Bucs, who already have Mike Evans and Chris Godwin in the fold. Although Bruce Arians worked with Brown in 2010-11 — when he was the Steelers’ OC — it does not sound like he on board with bringing in the mercurial superstar, Rapoport adds.
Set to turn 32 this summer, Brown has not played since the Patriots released him after his Week 2 cameo last season. Brady was not believed to support that decision, and the Pats struggled to assemble a reliable receiver depth chart for last season’s remainder.
Brown spent 2019 as a content-creating maven, going from the Steelers to the Raiders to the Pats. But multiple legal issues cropped up, including a short stay in jail, and the NFL is still investigating him because of the off-field trouble.
Although the Bucs figure to do plenty to attempt to make their prized free agent acquisition comfortable, Brown may be a bridge too far. The former sixth-round pick became a four-time first-team All-Pro and appears a lock for the 2010s’ All-Decade team, but he has become a notoriously unreliable asset. Brown filed a grievance against Brady’s former employer; that matter has yet to be resolved.
Latest On Buccaneers, Tom Brady
Yes, it’s true: Tom Brady has agreed to join the Buccaneers. But, as of this writing, the deal has not been signed, because Brady has not been able to take a physical yet due to the league’s travel restrictions, Mike Florio of PFT (on Twitter) hears.
Still, this only seems to be a temporary hitch. Everyone is on the same page, Jeff Darlington of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears, and Brady is working to get a physical from a doctor in New York. Ideally, the physical would be conducted by the Bucs’ team doctors, but all parties involved are willing to make things work under these unprecedented circumstances.
We’ll keep track of the latest updates on Brady and the Bucs here:
- The Brady effect has been huge for the Bucs’ free agency hopes. Since Brady agreed to go to Tampa, “an unexpected high number of players have reached out to the Buccaneers to let them know they want to join,” sources tell ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). This, perhaps, will give the Bucs extra motivation to get a deal finalized by the end of business on Thursday. Free agents are rapidly flying off of the board and they’ll want to capitalize before their top targets are spoken for.
Contract Details: JPP, Boston, Waynes
A new batch of contract details to pass along, all via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter):
- LB Jason Pierre-Paul, Buccaneers: two year extension. $25MM, including $20MM guaranteed. Salaries: $6.5MM, guaranteed (2020), $12.5MM, with $7.5MM guaranteed for injury (2021).
- S Tre Boston, Panthers: three years, $18MM. $8MM signing bonus. Salaries: $1.16MM (2020), $2.25MM (2021), $3.69MM (2022). $1MM third day 2020 roster bonus, $1MM third day 2022 roster bonus.
- CB Trae Waynes, Bengals: three years, $42MM. $15MM signing bonus. Salaries: $5MM (2020), $8.4MM (2021), $10.4MM (2022).
- DT Linval Joseph, Chargers: two years, $17MM. $8MM signing bonus. Salaries: $1.5MM (2020), $5.5MM (2021). $1MM annual playtime, sacks, Pro Bowl incentive.
- OL Wes Schweitzer, Redskins: three years, $13.5MM. $4MM guaranteed, $3MM signing bonus. Salaries: $1MM guaranteed (2020), $3.49MM (2021), $4.49MM (2022).
- LB A.J. Klein, Bills: three years, $18MM. $9.7MM guaranteed, $1.2MM signing bonus. Salaries: $2.2MM guaranteed (2020), $4.1MM, with $3.2MM guaranteed (2021), $4.2MM (2022).
- OL Tyler Shatley, Jaguars: signed. One-year, $1.511MM deal with $600K guaranteed. $1.375MM salary for 2020.
Latest On Tom Brady’s FA Experience
As we await the terms on Tom Brady‘s new deal with the Buccaneers, Albert Breer of TheMMQB has tweeted out some of the quarterback’s “conditions.”
Brady was seeking a two-year deal that would be backed by guarantees, and while he was seeking $60MM, he was open to “creativity.” Of course, Breer also cautions that the negotiations weren’t entirely about money; after all, Brady wanted to “give his new team financial flexibility to add.”
Further, Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com writes that Brady presented these conditions to both the Buccaneers and Chargers, with both organizations agreeing to the financial terms. As a result, the further Hall of Famer was able to basically choose between the two franchises.
Florio provides reasons why Brady ultimately opted for Tampa Bay over Los Angeles, noting the difference in income taxes between California (13.3-percent) and Florida (zero). Staying on the east coast also allowed Brady to remain relatively close to his 12-year-old son who lives in New York, and Florio is of the opinion that the Buccaneers are in a better position to compete than the Chargers.
Buccaneers’ Tom Brady Wants To Play With Antonio Brown
Teams that have spoke with Tom Brady in recent days believe that the new Buccaneers quarterback wants to reunite with Antonio Brown, according to NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo (on Twitter). It’s not immediately clear whether the Bucs are willing to sign Brown, whose status with the league is still up in the air.
We also heard chatter that Brady wanted to play with Brown in the lead-up to free agency, though those were sourced from anonymous people “close” to the wide receiver. Now, we’re getting word of Brady’s desire to play with Brown directly from the teams that were courting him.
From a football perspective, it would be a huge win for the Buccaneers. With Brown, Mike Evans, and Chris Godwin at wide receiver, they’d be impossible to guard for opposing defenses.
Still, the NFL says Brown’s status remains under review. Even if he’s cleared to play, the Bucs might have reservations about bringing him into the locker room. Remember, even before all of the ugly accusations and disturbing social media videos, Brown was perceived to be unstable for his behavior in Pittsburgh and the drama that nixed his Oakland tenure before it even began.
Brown has caught 841 passes for 11,253 yards over the course of his ten-year career, which includes seven Pro Bowl appearances. Brady, meanwhile, has thrown for 74,751 yards and 541 touchdowns en route to 14 Pro Bowl selections.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/17/20
We don’t dance now; we make minor moves.
Detroit Lions
- Waived: QB Kyle Sloter
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Released: TE Geoff Swaim
New England Patriots
- Re-signed: LB Keionta Davis
Philadelphia Eagles
- Re-signed: DT Hassan Ridgeway
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Re-signed: LS Kameron Canaday
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: TE Antony Auclair
Tom Brady Expected To Sign With Bucs
It looks like the Tom Brady sweepstakes are coming to a close. The expectation is that Brady will sign with the Buccaneers, sources told Jeff Darlington and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Tampa’s offer is “roughly” $30MM annually, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets, although the duration is unclear.
Rapoport added that the Buccaneers have been confident all day about landing him. It’s not at all unexpected given today’s developments, but it still is a wild conclusion to an unpredictable saga. A couple of years ago we got the first reports that Brady might want out of New England, but nobody at the time could’ve predicted it would end with him teaming up with Bruce Arians in Tampa Bay. It became clear in recent months that Brady leaving was a very real possibility, and earlier this morning the legendary quarterback announced he wouldn’t be back with the Patriots in 2020.
We heard just a little while ago that the Chargers were out of the running, which left the Bucs as the only known team aggressively pursuing Brady. The Raiders had been floated at various points, but they recently signed Marcus Mariota and the same report that had the Chargers out indicated Brady wanted to stay closer to his family on the east coast.
The Patriots were one of the best teams in the league last season, but it was mostly because of the defense and not the offense. Brady had one of his worst seasons statistically, averaging his lowest yards per attempt (6.8) since the 2002 season. The Pats were widely criticized for not providing him with enough weapons, and that won’t be an issue in Tampa.
The Bucs have arguably the best receiving duo in the league, with Chris Godwin and Mike Evans forming a matchup nightmare for any opposing secondary. Their defense also made major strides down the stretch last season under DC Todd Bowles, and they’ll now be considered an instant contender in 2020.
Brady spent 20 incredible years in New England, helping to create one of the most iconic dynasties in sports history. He’ll leave the Patriots at the age of 42, having won six Super Bowls with the team. We may never know exactly what happened the last few years, but it seems clear that Brady wanted a fresh start. His frustration with the offense was evident toward the end of last season, and it culminated in an embarrassing home loss to the Titans in the first round of the playoffs.
As for the Buccaneers, they’ll obviously be moving on from Jameis Winston, who they drafted first overall back in 2015. The game of quarterback musical chairs has almost ended, and there aren’t too many starting jobs left available for Winston to nab.