The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were rumored earlier this week as a team that could be âall in' on landing Tom Brady in free agency. On the contrary, Peter King of NBC Sports says that Tampa Bay will target Teddy Bridgewater instead of Brady.
âI canât tell you right now whether that would eliminate Tom Brady, or if Brady said, âI really want to play for you guys,â whether they wouldnât do that, I have just got a feeling through this process that if I had to put a quarterback in Tampa, that I would pick Teddy Bridgewater.â
The Buccaneers went into the 2019 season with the hopes that Bruce Arians could get Jameis Winston to play the best football of his career. While he threw for a career-high 5,109 yards and 33 touchdowns, Winston also threw a league-worst 30 interceptions.
Winston became the first quarterback to throw for 30 touchdowns and 30 interceptions in the same season. That isn't exactly a ringing endorsement for Arians to retain the former No. 1 pick.
With Winston likely departing in free agency, the Buccaneers need to find a viable replacement. Even though he doesn't fit Arians' style of offense, Brady would be an interesting choice under center.
Similar to Brady, Bridgewater isn't a schematic fit for Tampa Bay's vertical passing offense under Arians. At the same time, Bridgewater is younger than Brady and is someone that hasn't had turnover issues in his career.
This past season, Bridgewater started in five games due to Drew Brees dealing with a thumb injury. In those five starts, Bridgewater threw for 1,205 yards, nine touchdowns, and two interceptions. Even though Brady would be the more exciting name, Bridgewater could be Tampa Bay's ultimate target this offseason.
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