News of Tom Brady signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers seemed to set off a whirlwind of rumors about players following the six-time Super Bowl champion to South Florida.
Suddenly, it seemed that a Buccaneers franchise without a playoff appearance since 2007 became one of the most desirable destinations in football.
However, Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians put a lid on the idea of players chomping at the bit to play with Brady, noting the Bucs can only do so much with the cap space they have (via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk):
Arians said today that although the Buccaneers did hear from some players who were interested in playing alongside Brady, that didn’t change the team’s personnel plans.
“We had some guys call but there’s only so much money that can go around,” Arians said, via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times.
Players might want to line up alongside Brady, but they might not be willing to take a steep discount in the process. Besides, the Bucs have been more focused on internal improvements, notably on the defensive side of the football.
Tampa Bay placed the franchise tag on 2019 sack leader Shaquil Barrett, and they re-signed both Jason Pierre-Paul and Ndamukong Suh to fortify the front four.
Moreover, the Bucs do not need a whole lot of weaponry to surround Brady with, as most of the pieces are in place. Wideouts Mike Evans and Chris Godwin both made the Pro Bowl last season, and Tampa Bay has talented split tight ends in O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate.
The Bucs will likely look to upgrade the offensive line and possibly find a cheap running back with upside, but there are not a lot of holes to be filled.
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