The New England Patriots weren't able to keep Tom Brady this offseason. Or rather, they didn't do enough to keep Brady around. The 20-year member of the team elected to sign elsewhere this offseason and ultimately joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Over two years with the Bucs, Brady is set to make a maximum of $60 million with $50 million in guarantees. The terms of this contract are completely fair. And so was what he reportedly asked of the Bucs after they agreed to that contract.
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According to Rick Stroud of The Tampa Bay Times, Brady had just one request for Tampa Bay after signing on to be their new quarterback.
Brady never asked for control of the offense. He knew that [Bruce] Arians, offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich, quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen and special assistant Tom Moore would collaborate with him on game plans. He didn’t ask for any specific players to join him. He didn’t even ask to wear No. 12, which for the moment belongs to [Chris] Godwin.
In fact, there was only one request Brady had after he had signed: He wanted the phone numbers of all his new Bucs teammates.
Well, that's more than reasonable. And even though he didn't demand to wear No. 12, it seems that Godwin will consider giving it up if Brady wants it.
It's encouraging for the Buccaneers that Brady wants to get on the same page as his new teammates so quickly. It does make sense; after all, this is the first time he is changing teams since he went from the University of Michigan to the Patriots, so getting to know a new 90-man roster will take time. But Brady evidently is off to a good start.
PATRIOTS PODCASTS THIS WEEK:
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- Perry: Why Jarrett Stidham SHOULD be the next guy after Brady's departure
It will be interesting to see if Brady makes any demands should he struggle to click with the Bucs. Or if he decides that he wants Antonio Brown in the fold. But for the time being, it seems that he is just focused on getting to know his teammates as he prepares for the biggest change of his professional career.