Buccaneers a ‘sleeping giant’ to land Tom Brady?

The wide-ranging assumption seems to be that Tom Brady will move closer to where he grew up in California if he decides to leave the New England Patriots this offseason, but could a move down the East Coast make just as much sense for the six-time Super Bowl champion?

Peter King, who has a close relationship with Brady and has interviewed him numerous times over the years, said during an appearance on WEEI’s “Dale & Keefe Show” Thursday that he considers the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a “sleeping giant” in the Brady sweepstakes. King said he has been told Jameis Winston wants more money than the Bucs may be willing to pay at the moment, and the thought of working with Bruce Arians could appeal to Brady.

“Look, they have a pretty good offensive line and they’ve got two excellent receivers. They’ve got a really good young tight end, and they have a very imaginative head coach and offensive coordinator in the passing game,” King said. “I can’t tell you absolutely what they would do or what they are going to do, but I can tell you that they are fascinating to me because Bruce Arians isn’t coaching forever. I think he is one of those guys that all quarterbacks say, ‘Man, it would be cool to work for Bruce Arians’ because he’s such a fun offensive mind.”

Arians has worked with a number of prominent quarterbacks throughout his career, including Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger and Carson Palmer. The Bucs had the best wide receiver duo in football this season under Arians, with both Mike Evans and Chris Godwin turning in monster years before they got hurt. Brady, of course, was openly frustrated with New England’s offense in 2019.

“So, I guess I look at it and say when I think of Tampa Bay and Tom Brady, it makes as much sense to me as any of these other teams out here with the possible exception of the Chargers,” King added.

Las Vegas odds still overwhelmingly favor Brady returning to the Patriots, and we would be surprised to see him wind up elsewhere. While some believe Brady is going to finally force the Patriots to pay him top dollar if they want to keep him, what he really wants is a better supporting cast so he has a chance to contend for another title.

Brady sparked some rumors about his future earlier this month with his appearance at a UFC event, and it’s possible he knew exactly what he was doing. All of this could be about putting pressure on the Patriots.