Tom Brady officially announced his retirement on Tuesday, leaving the Buccaneers with a glaring hole at quarterback moving forward. While it will be nearly impossible to replace the NFL's all-time leading passer, general manager Jason Licht plans to exhaust all options in the team's search to succeed the seven-time Super Bowl champion.
“We'll have to go down every avenue,” Licht said Tuesday, per NFL.com. “It's a little bit different landscape than it was a couple years ago with the quarterbacks that were available in free agency. So, we'll have to go down every avenue, we'll turn over every stone. I hate to use clichés like that, but we will. I think our roster is in better position than we were two years ago in terms of the young talent we have, the experience they have at this point, what we've gone through in the last couple years. So I'm excited about that.”
Tampa Bay had three other quarterbacks in the building besides Brady in 2021, including second-round rookie Kyle Trask, Blaine Gabbert and Ryan Griffin. Trask remains the only one of the three under contract for the Bucs in 2022, while Gabbert, who appeared in six games and completed seven passes for 67 yards this season, and Griffin are free agents.
The Bucs could dip into the free agency pool themselves with Licht suggesting that the team plans to “remodel,” not rebuild. This year's free-agent class of quarterbacks promises to be intriguing if Tampa Bay wants to throw its hat into the ring.
Whatever Licht and the Buccaneers decide, replacing Brady will be no easy task. During the quarterback's two seasons with the team, Tampa Bay tallied an NFC South division title, five postseason wins and its second Super Bowl victory in franchise history.
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Licht didn't discuss the Buccaneers' future at only quarterback on Tuesday. He also spoke about the uncertain future of Rob Gronkowski. Although some have speculated the 32-year-old tight end will retire alongside Brady, Licht explained that the situation is still up in the air.
“I think that's yet to be seen,” Licht said Tuesday of Gronkowski retiring, per NFL.com. “I'm giving Rob the respect to give him some time to see how he feels here in the next coming of weeks after a long, grueling season. When you played in the league for 11 years, you need a little time to think things through to see if you want to go through with it for another year. From my conversations with Rob, he just needs that. I don't think it's going to be dependent on whether Tom came back or not from what I understand, and I know that Rob had an incredible experience here as well. He was a big factor in us having the success that we had. We would welcome Rob back with open arms, but we're giving him his space right now to decide on what he wants to do.”
Gronkowski, who's played all of his 11 seasons with Brady as his quarterback, played in 12 games in 2021. He hauled in 55 catches for 802 yards and six touchdowns.
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More Sports Illustrated Tom Brady Coverage:
- Photos: Every Tom Brady Sports Illustrated Cover
- Sportsperson Outtakes: Tom Brady, In His Own Words
- SI Vault: The Ultimate Teammate
- Tom Brady's Exit, And The Void That Comes With It
For more coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, visit All Bucs.
