In a scenario that would have typically only have happened in Madden, Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 2020 offseason proved to be one for the ages.
The word crazy might be putting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers‘ offseason too lightly. The only thing more surreal is that we may not even get to watch this team in action this season.
Keeping the defense together was a “top priority” for the Buccaneers, as coach Bruce Arians said at the NFL Draft Combine. Aside from losing Carl Nassib to the Las Vegas Raiders, the Buccaneers kept every single starter on their defense.
Shaq Barrett received the franchise tag, and that was the end for Jameis Winston on the Buccaneers roster. “We are checking what’s behind door number one, two and three,” Arians said at the combine. “I know what I’m doing at the quarterback position. Jameis Winston doesn’t know, but the team does.” Later, we would find out just which quarterback was behind each door.
Tom Brady announced that he would continue his playing career, just not with the New England Patriots.
Brady saw his name attached to a few teams, with the frontrunners being the Los Angeles Chargers and Raiders. The Buccaneers found themselves in the mix as a possible outside chance at signing the future Hall of Fame quarterback.
TB x TB
On March 17, the football world could forget about the coronavirus pandemic — if only for just a moment — when news broke that Brady was coming to the Buccaneers. It took a few days longer than a contract signing typically would, with all of the specific requirements and stay-at-home orders being issued for many states.
For those keeping score, door numbers one, two and three were Tom Brady, Teddy Bridgewater and then Winston as the third option.
After it was official that Brady would be the Buccaneers’ quarterback for two years, the rumor mill started churning. We heard rumors of Julian Edelman, Antonio Brown and Rob Gronkowski — you name it, we heard it.
“It’s not gonna happen,” Arians said of the team signing Brown. “There’s no room, and probably not enough money, there’s just not a fit here,” Arians continued on to Tiki Barber and Brandon Tierney.
Gronk spikes retirement
Gronkowski signed with the WWE and made his debut at WrestleMania 36 as the host of the show. Not only would he interview, he actually became the company’s 24/7 champion after pinning his friend Mojo Rawley. Gronk was doing everything he could outside of football and with his infectious personality, shows welcomed him with open arms.
Andy Cohen asked Gronkowski if he’d consider coming out of retirement on an episode of Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live that aired April 20. “I’m feeling good right now. I’m happy where I’m at. And you just never know, man. You just never know. I’m not totally done. But I’ve got to get that feeling back,” Gronkowski said.
Just 24 hours later, Gronkowski unretired and was traded, along with a seventh-round pick for a Buccaneers fourth-round pick. FOX Sports insider Jay Glazer reported that Gronkowski already had completed his physicals to be traded, so it seems that this was in the works for some time already. Ian Rapoport wanted to make sure that WWE fans knew Gronkowski still needs to defend his title — anytime, anywhere.
The Buccaneers skill position roster currently looks like this:
- QB: Tom Brady
- RB: Ronald Jones
- WR: Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Scotty Miller
- TE: Rob Gronkowski, O.J. Howard, Cameron Brate
Your team may have had a crazy offseason, but it wasn’t Tampa Bay crazy.