Bruce Arians Says Bucs Won't Trade Tom Brady If He Comes Out Of Retirement
Tom Brady's 2022 will not see him suiting up for any team other than the Buccaneers, if you take head coach Bruce Arians at his word.
Speaking to the media at the NFL Scouting Combine Tuesday, Arians buried the notion that Tampa Bay could trade the rights of the recently retired, 44-year-old quarterback.
“Nope, it’s bad business,” Arians said, via Jon Ledyard of Pewter Report.
Arians joked that five first-round picks would possibly be enough to move Brady, before saying that he has zero reason to believe that Brady will come out of retirement.
"He slammed it shut when I talked to him," Arians said, via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. "I think like a lot of these guys, he likes to have his name out there."
Since he announced his retirement from the NFL without actually saying the word "retire" itself Feb. 1, the chatter of a possible Brady comeback has been nonstop. General manager Jason Licht said that he wouldn't shut the door on a Brady return, but the Buccaneers certainly aren't banking on it.
“I have no information,” Licht said. “I’ve talked with Tom, but not about this. Just because we’re friends. I’ve talked to Tom several times. But not about this. So I don’t have any information that he’s going to come back. But on a player like Tom Brady, you just never shut the door.
“So until we make a decision on what we’re going to do, or what presents itself. Sometimes the decision isn’t made by , sometimes it’s made by other factors. But, yeah, never say never. But I don’t have any new information saying that he’s coming back.”
For now, any speculation of Brady coming back is just that. Tampa Bay will instead turn its attention to finding his replacement, which might be an in-house option. Just a week after praising backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert, Arians expressed confidence in Kyle Trask, the former Florida quarterback that Tampa Bay selected in the second-round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
“We drafted Kyle Trask for a reason,” Arians said. “He fits everything we want to do quarterback . I really, really liked what I saw for a year. So I doubt drafting is an option. For all the other guys, it’s going to be a trade. Well, you don’t trade by yourself – you’ve got to have a partner, so that could be out of the question.”
Those options, as of now, seem the most plausible as the Buccaneers have just around $21 million in cap space. With uncertainty at quarterback, Tampa Bay must also find ways to bring back receiver Chris Godwin, cornerback Carlton Davis III, center Ryan Jensen and running back Leonard Fournette among others.
“Trades are just out of the question,” Arians said. “You have to have a partner. These guys aren’t just willing and calling. ‘Hey you want my guy?’ Who is behind door No. 2 for them? So I don’t see very many of these guys moving. There might be one. Max two. Guys that we think could take us to the Super Bowl. I like about eight of them. But they’re all playing for somebody else. I don’t see teams giving up quarterbacks.”
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