Insider: Brees Could Be a Fit For the Bucs
A future for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers which seemed so bright 12 months ago is murky at best following their 4-12 campaign which included dropping their final 10 games. The teams two and a half month swoon led to the firing of head coach Raheem Morris and will likely lead to wholesale personnel changes.
Playing in the NFC South which boasts possibly the best quarterback play in the NFL, Bucs starter Josh Freeman currently pales in comparison to New Orleans’ Drew Brees, Atlanta’s Matt Ryan and Carolina’s Cam Newton. Instead of ascending toward near-elite status in 2011, Freeman tossed just 16 touchdown passes with 22 interceptions and five fumbles in the nightmare campaign.
“Freeman was the easiest guy we had to game plan for all season,” a prominent defensive player said of the Bucs quarterback last year.”
Although it may be a little early to give up on Freeman, it’s unlikely that he will be better than one of the three quarterbacks in the division much less all three. If the Bucs want to make a statement to their apathetic fanbase in 2012, it should start with the pursuit of Saints free agent quarterback Drew Brees.
Assuming that New Orleans doesn’t place the exclusive franchise tender on Brees, there is simply no harm in Tampa Bay making a major play to get the record-setting quarterback. At 33 years old, Brees still has four or five great years left in him and with all apologies to Sean Payton and Marques Colston, the Bucs would be cutting the proverbial head off the snake that dominated the NFC South last season.
At the very least if New Orleans placed a regular franchise tender on Brees, the Bucs can virtually negotiate the Saints deal for them, making New Orleans pay an exorbitant amount for their franchise signal caller. With more proposed salary cap room than any other team in the NFL, the Bucs can front-load a deal for Brees that would make it nearly impossible for the Saints to match, or at least wreck the key cogs to their team in doing so.
In a potential “worst-case scenario,” if New Orleans couldn’t match the deal then the Bucs would give up a pair of first-round picks for an elite signal caller who just broke the NFL single-season record for passing yardage. Brees would be the best quarterback in the history of the franchise and make the Bucs legit Super Bowl contenders immediately. Assuming they flirt with Brees and don’t get him, this could send a message a incumbent signal caller Josh Freeman to increase his off-the-field efforts in becoming the best quarterback he can be.
A Brees signing would likely mean an influx of ticket and merchandising revenue, helping pay for the quarterback. If Tampa Bay fans can’t get excited enough over Drew Brees to purchase tickets, they simply shouldn’t have a franchise.
If New Orleans is short-sighted enough to not be able to work out a deal with Drew Brees and place a simple franchise tender on them, the Bucs have possession of the dagger that can rip apart the vital organs of the Saints franchise. They need to use it or get used to last-place finishes for the foreseeable future.
Charlie Bernstein is the NFL Insider for ESPNFlorida.com and ESPN 1080 and 1040 in Orlando/Tampa and Editor-in-Chief of Sports Media Interactive, covering the National Football League, NCAA, and National Basketball Association. Charlie covers the Jacksonville Jaguars for FoxSports and has been featured on the NFL Network and Sirius NFL Radio. Charlie is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow Charlie on Twitter @nflcharlie
