It’s been an interesting 24 hours for Bucs historians, or at least for fans who love studying the whole truth versus what their favorite team says publicly.
So back in February of 2020, the Bucs made it clear that they were quarterback shopping after Jameis Winston imploded late in the 2019 season.
Winston’s contract had expired and, while the Bucs publicly said they were strongly considering a Jameis’ return, then-head coach Bucco Bruce Arians said the Bucs were looking at what might be behind “Door No. 2.”
Former QB coach Clyde Christensen said at the time he was studying all potential free agent quarterbacks, including Tom Brady, Teddy Bridgewater, Drew Brees and Philip Rivers. Joe vividly remembers Christensen talking about that on Indianapolis sports radio in February of 2020, and off the air, as Joe was standing right next to Christensen during interviews at the Indianapolis Convention Center.
So was Tom Brady the guy behind Door No. 2? It sure seemed so. The Bucs agreed to a deal with him during the free agency “tampering” period of 2020, prior to free agency officially launching a day later.
Joe brings this up because Buccaneers Ring of Honor general manager Jason Licht said yesterday that Bridgewater, who the Bucs just signed, was “Door No. 2.” Keep in mind Licht was not asked yesterday about that 2020 situation.
“A few years ago, he was what was behind door number two,” Licht said. “We talked about that today on the sideline. We ended up with Tom Brady, but now we have Teddy on the roster. You can have everything, just not all at once \[laughs\].”
So does that confirm Brady was really Door No. 1 and the Bucs needed to kind of hide their pre-free-agency backroom dealings like every NFL does?
Today, Bridgewater said he was sure he was coming to Tampa in 2020, and then the Brady deal got done.
That brings Joe to another what-if of the 2020 season. Suppose the Bucs did, in fact, sign Bridgewater over Brady. Multiple times before signing Brady, Licht said he would “love” to draft a quarterback and noted he hadn’t since Winston in 2015.
Arians took it a step further, strongly implying the Bucs wanted a QB after the first round in 2020.
“I don’t think we want one that’s going to be sitting on the bench for three years, but if he is, he’s got to come at the right time in the draft,” Arians said. “And I think there are some guys like that, with big upsides.”
Eagles QB Jalen Hurts was the only quarterback drafted in Rounds 2 and 3 in the 2020 draft.
Would the Bucs have drafted him in Round 2 instead of Antoine Winfield, if they had signed Bridgewater? The Eagles grabbed Hurts eight picks after Winfield.
Joe still thanks the football gods daily for Brady coming to Tampa.