It didn’t take much more than a pair of binoculars to see what the Buccaneers were doing.
Tom Brady’s body coach and business partner Alex Guerrero—around whom a dust storm of acrimony had been kicked up back in New England—was out on the practice field with hard-to-miss resistance bands, getting the quarterback his work in after Tampa Bay had just trudged through a two-hour joint practice with the Titans. Alongside Brady was his eldest son, Jack, holder of a hard-to-get, tiered-in spot with the players through COVID-19 protocols.
From where father and son ran gassers together, Brady could throw a ball through the window of Guerrero’s office, located on the ground floor of the team’s facility. And it was through that office more than half of the Bucs’ 53-man roster would pass for treatment over the course of the season. (Brady thought it was important all his teammates had access to Guerrero, so as to make sure the area remained a team space.)
The Buccaneers’ operation had become, in so many ways, Brady’s operation, and you couldn’t take five steps in that place over the last two years without tripping over another reminder of it. The Bucs were happy to make it so, too, because, well, it meant they had Brady, and having Brady meant winning 29 games and a championship.
It’s a new day in the NFL and, really, that new day is just an outsized version of the old day. Quarterbacks have always been the most precious commodity in the sport. But the last three offseasons have taken it to another level. The story above illustrates how every team that has a great one has to operate around him now. And the last week has brought to life, repeatedly, both that fact and the lengths to which those who don’t have one will go to get one.
Within an hour’s time on Tuesday, Aaron Rodgers closed the book on a year of drama by getting word out that he’d be back in Green Bay for an 18th season, and Russell Wilson opened a new chapter in his career as he boarded a private jet for Denver and the next phase of his NFL life. Twenty-four hours after that, the Commanders, having fallen short in the pursuit of Wilson, became the latest team to take a swing on pumping life back into the career of Carson Wentz, who was once seen in the sort of light the two aforementioned QBs are.
“Obviously, the position’s always been important,” said one AFC executive. “Now, if you don’t have one, you flat-out can’t compete. So you’re going to be doing everything you can to please the quarterback. Like, your whole plan has to be structured around him now. In the past, there’s maybe not much emphasis on it. Look at the Colts. They have a really good roster, but you don’t have the quarterback, you don’t even make the playoffs.
“And there’s such a drop-off now from the top eight or so to the next tier. It’s like hitting the lottery if you have one.”
Which is why this week’s quarterback moves promise to define this offseason, in much the same way the Matthew Stafford trade, and ongoing quarterback drama elsewhere, defined last offseason; and Brady’s bolting from New England defined the offseason before that.
