On Tuesday, Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Tom Brady released an official statement that he is indeed retiring. The former Buccaneer shared the news on Instagram, thanking former players and coaches for the wild ride.
With Brady announcing his retirement, it leaves Tampa Bay with a gaping hole at the most important position. Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht while on a conference call Tuesday night, detailed his thoughts on the search to fill the hole left by Brady.
As NBC Sports' Charean Williams noted, the Buccaneers will “have to go down every avenue. We’ll have to turn over every stone. . . . I think our roster is in better position than it was two years ago,” Licht said.
The team will face a lot of difficult choices this offseason. Many of the team's best players enter unrestricted free agency. That list includes WR Chris Godwin, DE Jason Pierre-Paul, center Ryan Jensen, RB Leonard Fournette and DT Ndamukong Suh. That does not include TE Rob Gronkowski, who reports have indicated he is likely to retire, again. But if Gronkowski remained active, he is also a free agent.
Assuming that many of these players leave the team, the Buccaneers will likely have cap space to sign a starting quarterback. The question is: who would be available to fill that role?
Andy Dalton, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Cam Newton and Teddy Bridgewater and arguably the best free agent quarterbacks. Tampa Bay probably has their sights set on something different. Packers QB Aaron Rodgers' future is uncertain in Green Bay. Jimmy Garoppolo is likely leaving San Francisco. DeShaun Watson's legal battles are not handled. But, that might be someone else Licht takes a look at if he is looking to make a splash.
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