Tom Brady is set to officially sign his new contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Wednesday afternoon. When he does, he’s got some ideas on who else the team should pick up to improve the offense. Rumors started circulating on Wednesday morning the former New England Patriots quarterback wants the Bucs to sign receiver Antonio Brown.
Pro Football Rumors reports that more than one team that spoke with Brady in the last week believes he wanted Brown to come to wherever he signed. There are more than a few hangups with this idea, but Brady seems set on at least trying it out.
The site points out that it isn’t clear whether the Bucs are going to pursue Brown. Tom Pelissero pointed out on Twitter that it wasn’t clear whether or not the receiver has been cleared by the NFL to play. Pelissero did also point out that if AB was allowed to play and was signed by Tampa, Brady would have a top-notch receiver corps.
The quarterback having his pick of AB, Mike Evans or Chris Godwin would be a problem for opposing defenses. The NFL is going to be the big hangup in any kind of team-up between Tom Brady and Antonio Brown.
AB has been suspended indefinitely thanks to several off-field issues plaguing him throughout last season. At least some of those problems led to the first team-up between the two being cut very short. 2019, in general, was cut short for Brown.
Coming into this past season, the former Pittsburgh Steelers receiver had logged six straight 100-reception seasons. That included an incredible 136 catches in 2015. That was coming off a 129 catch year in 2014. After forcing himself off the Steelers after 2018, he landed in a trade with the Oakland Raiders.
After initially talking as though it was a match made in heaven, problems cropped out during summer workouts and fall camp. He eventually went AWOL and forced the Raiders to release him.
After Oakland let him go, he was signed by Tom Brady’s New England Patriots. He played in just one game, though he did catch four passes for 56 yards and a touchdown. After that game, more off-the-field issues surfaced and the Pats ended up releasing Brown.
Now, Brady is reportedly asking for a reunion with the player, apparently convinced things will turn out different this time. Several factors will determine if that can actually happen, including Bruce Arians and the rest of Tampa’s management wanting to deal with the potential headaches.