We Have Our Second Clue This Week Hinting At A Potential Tom Brady Return

Patrick Smith. Getty Images.

Earlier this week, the Buccaneers released their creamsicle uniforms for sale. I blogged about how the Bucs team store interestingly included a Tom Brady creamsicle jersey despite him never wearing it. I'd given up hope for a Brady return months ago and am fully on the Kyle Trask/Baker Mayfield train. But now we get another hint that the door may not be fully closed.

Now Winfield isn't just a fringe roster guy. He is a young, Pro Bowl player. He's won a Super Bowl with Brady as a rookie and is a cornerstone of the defense. Richard Sherman also played for the Bucs in 2021 so him and Winfield certainly have more than a rapport. So I think the source is very credible.

So could this actually happen?!?! This coupled with the fact that Brady has put off his FOX analyst gig for a year, I'm starting to think there is actually a possibility this could happen.

Realistically there are hurdles. 

- Cap Room. The Bucs have $1.4 million dollars in cap room, but Brady represents $35M of dead cap this year. If he comes back, they would have to work some magic.

- New Offense. Dave Canales was brought in from Seattle to be the Offensive Coordinator and is coming in with a brand new offense that's new to everyone in Tampa. Brady sitting out an entirely new Offense during camp sounds like a lot.

- Age. Brady is about to be 46 in a couple weeks. Can he put his body through another full season? While the pundits were very down on him last year, he was better than advertised and hamstrung a bit by his OC (Byron Leftwich) who has since been canned. When Brady was calling plays and running the Offense in the no huddle, generally run towards the end of games, the Offense and Brady, were much much better.

- The Roster. The Buccaneers win total line is 6.5 which isn't great. Does Brady make them a Super Bowl contender? The NFC, especially the NFC South is still very week. Outside of the Eagles, there aren't any big dogs in the NFC, especially after Aaron Rodgers' departure.

- The Raiders. Brady is a minority owner in the Las Vegas Raiders. Can that be put off? Can he get out on time? This could be a sticky issue.

Again, a lot to take in here, but I am at least now convinced there is a non-zero chance that Tom Brady suits up for my Buccaneers again!