When the news broke that Tom Brady was signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, everyone was hesitant to believe it and O.J. Howard felt the same. Over two weeks since Brady officially signed his deal, Howard reacted to Tampa Bay signing Brady:
“For me, like everyone else, I was hearing the rumors about it,” Howard said during an appearance on “Bucs Beat” with Tampa Bay team reporter Casey Phillips. “But for me, I had to make sure it was true. When he signed and I knew it was official, it was awesome.
The moment that ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that Brady was headed to the Buccaneers, everyone had to make a double-take to make sure it wasn't a parody account. However, even when Brady signed on the dotted line, it was still surreal to believe that Brady was no longer a member of the New England Patriots.
For Howard, the former first-round pick is going to get a chance to play with the greatest quarterback of all time. While he isn't the same player that Rob Gronkowski was, it's a positive sign for Howard that Brady is comfortable throwing to tight ends.
In his first season under Bruce Arians in 2019, Howard was able to record 34 receptions for 459 yards and one touchdown. Amid his struggles to get acclimated in Arians' offense, Howard was actually rumored in trade talks. As a matter of fact, there were reports that the Patriots made an attempt to acquire Howard.
Nevertheless, the Buccaneers chose to keep Howard, hoping that he can develop into a cornerstone player for their offense. Just a year after being tossed around in trade talks, Howard is now going to be catching passes from Brady.
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