Tom Brady will no longer be a terror to the rest of the NFC South after the Buccaneers quarterback announced that he would be retiring from the NFL on Wednesday. The seven-time Super Bowl champion, who previously said he was retiring on the same exact day–Feb. 1–in 2022, shared that this time he was walking away from football “for good,” which will certainly come as a relief to the other teams in Tampa’s division.
In fact, Saints defensive end Cam Jordan is fairly certain that he knows what will become of the Bucs with Brady now gone. Speaking with NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe at the Pro Bowl Games on Saturday, the New Orleans star added to the NFC South rivalry between the two clubs with some harsh remarks for Tampa.
“We salute him and wish him the best in whatever that next endeavor is,” Jordan said of Brady. “We’re glad he’s out of the division. Tampa Bay will probably go back to… where Tampa Bay has been.”
Jordan’s quip may be harsh, but it’s not dishonest to point out the Buccaneers’ struggles prior to Brady’s arrival. Before Tampa won Super Bowl LV to end the 2020 season and posted a 32–18 record with the legendary quarterback, the Bucs had just one winning season dating back to 2011 when the club went 9–7 in ’16. Tampa hadn’t made to playoffs since ’07, more than a decade before Brady joined the team.
The Buccaneers quarterback situation is also rather bleak following the departure of the seven-time Super Bowl champion, with 2021 second-round pick Kyle Trask remaining as the only signal-caller still on the active roster. That only benefits a veteran pass-rusher like Jordan, who will be looking to make his ninth Pro Bowl with the Saints next season.
