I know what you’re thinking.
“Damn, you’re really reaching to connect the Aaron Rodgers news with the Bucs?”
Yeah, yeah, it’s a stretch, but bear with me.
So the Green Bay Packers and Aaron Rodgers have agreed to having one last season together, with Rodgers free to explore elsewhere following the 2022 season.
Now, obviously Tom Brady being in a Bucs uniform creates some roadblocks on the road that brings Rodgers coming to Champa Bay, but if all of the pieces fall in the right (or wrong, depending on your opinion of the former Cal Golden Bear) places, the Bucs could be inking the reigning MVP in 2022.
First, we have to assume three things, two of which are linked to each other (and not super far-fetched), and the third being another crazy thing on its own (and not nearly as likely, but also not impossible).
The first scenario is that Aaron Rodgers and the Packers split after another disappointing end to the season. This seems like almost a foregone conclusion at this point, as the Packers’ season came to a rough end last season at the hands of our Bucs in the NFC Championship.
The second and third are that the Bucs end up repeating as Super Bowl champs, and Brady decides that he wants to go out on top and call it quits after blessing the Bucs with two rings.
Having covered Brady for a little over a year, he doesn’t necessarily seem like the type of guy to ever be satisfied. So the Bucs winning another ring would probably only stoke the competitive flame that burns within the GOAT. But, he’s going to be 45 years old next summer. Maybe after giving Tampa dos championships he wants to ride off into the sunset with his hundreds of millions and hang out with his supermodel wife and three kids.
Brady’s departure would seemingly leave the Bucs in full Kyle Trask mode and looking at their current backup QB for answers. But, hold the phone, Aaron Rodgers sees what Brady did in Tampa and decides, “You know what, maybe I want to keep this good thing goin’.” The Bucs clearly have an outstanding supporting cast, and given the success of the 2021 season and the assumed success of the 2022 season there are a lot worse places Rodgers could end up.
These are all huge leaps to make, and if Brady wants to return after this season regardless of how the Bucs’ season ends up, he’s under contract and you welcome him back with warm, open arms, even if Rodgers is available.
Because Brady is, after all, the GOAT.
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This article appears in Jul 22-28, 2021.