Brady Chooses Tampa Bay As Texans and Cardinals Make Big Trade

Though many of sports have slowed down because of the need to protect players and coaches from COVID-19, that didn’t stop the NFL from having an eventful off-season week. Not only did the NFL off-season moves not slow down at all, but three big moves were made, in which one may be the biggest of this whole off-season.

After the 2019 NFL season, six-time Super Bowl winning quarterback for the New England Patriots, Tom Brady, was eligible for free agency if he did not sign another contract with the Patriots, which he didn’t. Since learning he would not return to play for the Patriots, it has been highly anticipated where we would see the one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time play next, and perhaps end his career.

On March 17th, Brady announced he would not be returning to the New England Patriots, and just hours later he would make his decision to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The two teams in competition for Brady were the San Diego Chargers, and the Buccaneers. Per NFL reporter Jeremy Bergman, though appreciating the Chargers offer, Brady shied away from traveling to the west to play football because of “family consideration.”

That left the Bucs as the only bidders in the Brady auction, and by Tuesday at 7:06 p.m. fans had the news that Brady will play for the Buccaneers in 2020.

The Florida setting and lack of options were not the only factors that led Brady to choose his new team. Though Tampa Bay has not been the one of the more notable teams in recent years, they have been trending upward. The recent hiring of the great Bruce Arians, and being able to hold on to gems that were already there like Mike Evans and O.J. Howard show they have a desire to win.

Elsewhere in the NFL, All-Pro receiver for the Houston Texans, DeAndre Hopkins, was traded to the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals also get a fourth round pick, and what the Texans receive in return is a running back David Johnson and a second round pick. It is odd to see the Texans make this trade considering they are giving away arguably the best player on their team and the best receiver in the league. But it is possible that, like their divisional round playoff game against the Chiefs suggested earlier in the year, the Texans need more players that can control the game after taking big leads. A few years ago, David Johnson was a name that had to be mentioned when talking about the best running backs in the NFL. Since then injuries have plagued him, and he has not been able to reach the same level of stardom that he once had. Assuredly, the Texans are hopeful that Johnson will reach the potential that people had for him, while being the final piece needed for a consistent playoff team to the super bowl. Both teams received players with great potential, so to say who won this trade, we’ll need to see the outcome of each team in the long run.

The final big transaction that came late in the week was the releasing and signing running back Todd Gurley.

Gurley was released on Thursday, March 19th, by the Los Angeles Rams. It is uncertain why Gurley was released, but according to NFL reporter Ian Rapoport it was “a troubling knee injury that simply would not go away, [the knee injury being] a big time story leading up to the super bowl a couple years back, and something that clearly limited him last year in the minds of those with the Rams.”

Gurley, a day later signed with the Atlanta Falcons. Though limited for last year’s season, Gurley was still the Offensive Player of The Year in 2018, putting on display his power running, and game breaking ability, and for the Falcons, that’s the Gurley they would expect to be getting.

Big moves are continuing to be made not just weekly but on a daily basis in the NFL. Talented players are everywhere but the team that ends out on top is the one that knows how to manage it all.