Tom Brady just ruined Gasparilla

The GOAT is hanging up his cleats, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter and a deleted post on Brady’s own TB12 Sports Twitter account.

Bucs head coach Bruce Arians says he didn’t know that was the plan, and while Brady’s agent says only Tom will make the announcement, The Athletic’s Greg Auman has pointed out that the news rollout is kind of messy.

So, either Brady’s own company has gone rogue and tweeted out of turn, or Arians is woefully misinformed.

Regardless, Gasparilla is officially ruined.

Anyway, here's the moment they broke the Brady news during Gasparilla. pic.twitter.com/JqN8izoqnr

— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) January 29, 2022

And so begins a potential offseason of change, with Gronk recently showing an unwillingness to commit to next season (probably because he’s waiting to see what Brady does), and with free agents aplenty floating out there.

Injured wide receiver Chris Godwin might be out of the Bucs’ price range with their salary cap situation, especially because if Brady is indeed retiring, he’ll count for $25 million against the cap, and the Bucs will still need to potentially find a starting quarterback.

Defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh could hang his cleats up himself, with twins at home and 35 years of life under his belt. Lifetime Buc William Gholston might also be looking to jump ship and latch on with a contender.

Center Ryan Jensen has proven his immense value, and he might be willing to explore his options especially if he’s not snapping the ball to TB12 in Tampa.

Playoff Lenny might not earn as much as the aforementioned Jensen and Godwin, but without Brady his motivation to remain a Buc might wane as well.

Pass rusher Jason-Pierre Paul could be in a new uniform by next season, or he could decide he’s had enough, especially after such an injury-filled season.

Tampa Bay’s corner Carlton Davis is also likely to find an eager suitor, and safety Jordan Whitehead might do the same.

We’ve already covered Gronk, and that leaves the Bucs without the draft picks to cover the holes that this roster is likely to have.

I mean, we’re looking at the Bucs losing a potential of 10 total starters, and with the Bucs’ cap situation and losing their biggest selling point, I don’t see them attracting any big names.
You add in the possibility of losing both coordinators Byron Leftwich and Todd Bowles to other head coaching opportunities, and the fact that Bruce Arians might decide he doesn’t want to deal with a new quarterback who’s not Tom Brady, and the Bucs could look like a completely new team next season.

Regardless, these next few years could be long.

We all knew the Bucs’ time in the sun had to end, it’s just a bit of a shock for it to come so soon. Brady had talked about playing until he was 45, so the Bucs were working under the assumption that they had him under center for at least another season.

Oh, well. Champa Bay was indeed a great era.

At least the Rays aren’t doing that God-awful split season thing.

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