Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay timeline: Events that defined his first season with the Buccaneers
TAMPA, Fla. — In what will go down as one of the most unlikely free-agent signings in NFL history, quarterback Tom Brady, winner of six Super Bowls with the New England Patriots, became a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a franchise synonymous with losing for the past decade-plus.
But as far-fetched as it seemed, 10 months later, Brady has led the Bucs to just their fourth 11-win season in franchise history. They’re in the NFC divisional round of the playoffs for the first time since the 2002 season, facing the New Orleans Saints on Sunday (6:40 p.m. ET, Fox).
So much has happened for Brady both professionally and personally in that span, from learning a new route to get to work each day to navigating a new offense under coach Bruce Arians. It wasn’t without hiccups, but there were also triumphant moments and quite a few laughs. Here’s a look back at the events and moments that shaped Brady’s first season with the Bucs.
Brady signed a two-year contract worth $50 million to play for a Bucs team that hadn’t been to the postseason since 2007. But it was a chance for him to start over, to do something new for the first time in 20 years, and Tampa Bay’s offensive playmakers were appealing. Brady said, “I’m prepared to give them every bit of commitment I’ve had my entire career to be the best I could be, to help this team be the best it could be.”
In an unprecedented move for a former Bostonian, Brady moved into the “St. Jetersburg” home of former New York Yankees legend Derek Jeter on Davis Islands. When asked by Howard Stern what happens when the washing machine breaks, Brady said, “I call and I bitch to him and he gets it fixed,” Brady said. “Everyone thinks they want to own a home, and it’s nice to rent. You get all the benefits with no responsibility, so I’m totally cool with this.”
But it was only for the short term, as Jeter put the home on the market. Brady and his family have since relocated.
In an attempt to retrieve his playbook from offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich and social distance himself, Brady walked into what he thought was Leftwich’s home, but it instead was the house next door. “I’m sitting here, and I see this big shadow come up to my front door … and I hear my doorknob turning … and I’m like, ‘What the hell?’ Like, ‘Who’s coming in my house?'” homeowner David Kramer told TMZ. “He just goes, ‘Am I in the wrong house?!'”
The Patriots traded Gronkowski to the Bucs for a fourth-round pick. The reunion has led to stories — LOTS of stories — over the course of the season, with some hilarious back-and-forths on Zoom and even some epic impersonations. Brady recalled one offseason when Gronk was preparing for a GQ photo shoot and feeling out of shape, so he asked Brady to work out. The two had a throwing session on a baseball field in the rain.
“The ball never hit the ground,” Brady said. “And then he was like (lowers voice in an attempt to sound like Gronkowski), ‘Dude, that was great. That was perfect. That was just what I needed. I feel ripped now.’ And he was ready for his photo shoot because of one day of the two of us working out together.”
Gronk responded the following week by mocking Brady’s “struggle face” after he took a shot of Fireball at the Kentucky Derby. “Just seeing his face after, like in disgust, like, ‘I’m putting this alcohol in my body?’ … He’s just like, ‘How am I gonna throw next week?'”
In The Match: Champions for Charity golf tournament, one of the few live sporting events on television during the height of COVID-19 lockdowns, Brady was paired with Phil Mickelson against Peyton Manning and Tiger Woods. Brady struggled throughout the day and was taunted by announcer Charles Barkley. But then Brady sunk the shot of his life with a birdie on the No. 7 hole, before telling Barkley, “Chuck, shut your mouth.” Brady then suffered an unfortunate wardrobe malfunction, tweeting after, “Pants wanted in on social distancing I guess.”
In his debut with the Buccaneers at New Orleans, Brady threw two interceptions, including a pick-six to Janoris Jenkins, while left tackle Donovan Smith surrendered two sacks in a 34-23 loss. But what generated even more attention was Arians pointing out Brady’s mistakes publicly afterward.
Arians said, “He looked like Tom Brady in practice all the time, so it’s kind of unusual to see that in a ballgame because they didn’t do things that we didn’t get ready for. Everything they did, we thought we were ready for.” It didn’t sit well with Pro Football Hall of Famer Brett Favre who said of Arians, “I think you’re barking up the wrong tree.” Later on, Brady said he appreciated Arians’ tough coaching.
Brady overcame a first-half pick-six to lead the Bucs to a 38-31 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers. It was the second-largest comeback in franchise history, and Brady’s biggest comeback since his 28-3 comeback in Super Bowl LI. “How can you not believe in him?” wide receiver Scotty Miller said. “He’s the greatest to ever do it.”
At age 43, Brady became the oldest player in NFL history to record five passing touchdowns in a game, according to ESPN Stats & Information. It also signified the start of a culture shift in Tampa Bay. “I can honestly say, had this been last year, we would have gotten our ass beat by 20,” coach Bruce Arians said. “[With] Tom — he’s never behind in his mind, so we can always make plays to win games.”
In Brady’s first primetime game with the Bucs and down by 20-19 with 38 seconds to go, he failed to connect with tight end Cam Brate on fourth-and-6. After the pass was ruled incomplete, TV cameras zoomed in to Brady flashing four fingers, appearing puzzled. Brady said after the game he was focused more on yardage and not on the down. Brady did, however, manage to poke fun at himself a few days later. In congratulating the Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James for winning his fourth NBA title, Brady tweeted a superimposed image of James on his body, holding up four fingers.
After being down 10-0 in the first quarter to the Packers, Brady threw two touchdown passes — including one to Gronkowski for his first as a Buccaneer — with Ronald Jones tacking on two more for arguably the Bucs’ biggest win of the season. It was all ignited by an interception returned for a touchdown from cornerback Jamel Dean in the second quarter. It was also just the second time in franchise history that the Bucs had zero penalties in a game, which came after a tongue-lashing from Brady in their loss to the Bears. Prior to Brady’s arrival, the Bucs had been the most-penalized team in the league with 133 penalties in 2019. They finished 2020 with 84 penalties this season — 11th fewest in the league.
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Despite Brown’s well-documented off-the-field struggles and Arians initially saying Brown “wasn’t a fit” for the Bucs’ locker room, Brady, who had been pushing for the Bucs to sign Brown for months, finally got his wish. Brady said he didn’t believe he was risking his own reputation by taking Brown under his wing and letting him stay at his home.
“A lot of people weren’t born with the same advantages that I’ve had growing up, they weren’t born with the same background or support systems that I had,” Brady said. “I think a lot of joy in my experience comes from seeing other people be their best and seeing people succeed in ways that can set their family up. I think that’s a really important aspect of football for me.”
Experiencing his first tropical storm as a Florida resident, Brady attempted to secure his jet skis by tying them to his dock. Except the dock broke. “They were about 300 yards away at someone else’s house, and I got a bunch of messages from people that were like, ‘Hey, man, are [those] your jet skis?” Brady said. “They got fixed. We dragged ’em back.”
Without left guard Ali Marpet, who missed the game with a concussion, Brady was pressured on 46% of his dropbacks, among the highest in his career. He threw no touchdowns and three interceptions in the 38-3 defeat — the worst loss of his career.
“They kicked our ass in every phase,” Arians said.
“That was rock bottom,” Brate said. “Nothing worked [and] everyone played terribly.”
It was their third poor showing on prime-time TV this season. (They would lose once more in prime time to the Rams.)
“We need to perform better at every time,” Brady said. “One o’clock, 4 o’clock, 8 o’clock, Monday night, Sunday night. Doesn’t matter. … “As players we got to prepare harder, we got to execute better, there’s no excuses for what it is. It’s a poor performance by a team that’s got a lot ahead of it.”
After back-to-back three-point losses to the Rams and Kansas City Chiefs in a span of nine days, Brady and the Bucs exploded out of the bye week. They won four straight, with Brady throwing 12 touchdowns and one interception in the best final four-game stretch of his career. That included a 17-point comeback at the Falcons, which marked a turning point for the offense. “The second half of the [Falcons] game — it’s been on fire since then,” Arians said.
All week long, Washington second-overall draft pick Chase Young said, “Tom Brady, I’m coming.” But instead of sacking Brady, he came up to Brady after the game to offer his congratulations, with Brady promising to send him a jersey.
Brady threw two touchdowns, with left tackle Donovan Smith having arguably one of his best NFL games. “That’s the boy,” running back Leonard Fournette said. “We’ve got faith in him. We’re gonna protect our butts off for him to make sure he gets that throw.”
To commemorate Sunday’s historic matchup featuring the first time two quarterbacks over the age of 40 will face off, Brady tweeted a meme of him and Brees using age progression software and slapped a History Channel logo on it. Brady also had a bit of a “senior moment,” when asked about it, forgetting whether Brees was, in fact, younger or older than him (Brady is, in fact, older).
“He’s a lot younger than me,” Brady joked. “He’s 18 months older than me…18 months younger. Well, 18 months ago I felt pretty good, so I’ve got a little advanced age on him and experience.
“Just, think so much of him as a person, as a player,” Brady said. “I know what it takes to do what he’s doing. He knows what it takes to do what I’m doing. And I just think there’s a lot of mutual respect.”
Jokes and memes aside, Brees said it came as no surprise that they’re facing each other for a third time this season in the playoffs.
“When Tom Brady signed with the Bucs and I knew that he was coming to our division, I envisioned this game,” Brees said.