Bucs Face Cap, FA Decisions In Wake of Brady’s Return

Tom Brady said he wouldn’t retire until he either “sucked” or turned 45, which made his February announcement feel a bit sudden.

With Sunday’s bombshell tweet, the GOAT is back for “unfinished business” after Tampa Bay failed to defend the Super Bowl last season.

It’s good news for the Bucs, but they still have to maneuver around the cap — Brady carries the second-highest team cap hit ($20.3M) — and make several decisions when free agency opens Wednesday.

• The Bucs currently carry the league’s seventh-highest cap ($209M) — $3.2M over the limit.
• Brady’s offensive line isn’t locked in after allowing the fewest sacks in the NFL (23): C Ryan Jensen signed a three-year, $39M deal, but G Ali Marpet retired, and G Alex Cappa will reportedly sign a four-year, $40M deal with the Bengals.
• Tampa’s notable free agents include SB LV champs DE Jason Pierre-Paul, DT Ndamukong Suh, RB Leonard Fournette, and TE Rob Gronkowski.

Despite the uncertainty, the Buccaneers are overwhelming favorites to win the NFC South (-200*) and jumped up to fourth-best odds (+850*) to win Super Bowl LVII with Brady back.

Brady will turn 45 in August, but he just finished second in MVP voting to Aaron Rodgers — and if Tampa can sort out its remaining uncertainties, a record-extending eighth Lombardi Trophy could be in the cards.