Tom Brady at last discusses his motivation for moving from New England to Tampa Bay.
Brady discusses in the documentary “The Dynasty” why, after winning six Super Bowls, he decided to leave the Patriots after a 20-year career.
It’s easy for the average NFL fan to forget how awful the quarterback position was for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the better part of the last 20 years, given the recent success of Baker Mayfield and Tom Brady.
At different times, veterans like Josh McCown, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jeff Garcia, and Brian Griese were all used, but none of them were very successful. Josh Freeman and Jameis Winston were the two quarterbacks the Bucs attempted to select in the first round, but neither attempt proved successful.
During that period, Winston was the Bucs quarterback who had the most success by far. With an 86.9 passer rating, he started 72 games, completed 61.3% of his passes for 19,737 passing yards, 121 touchdowns, and 88 interceptions.
Winston would show off his skills in the NFL, accumulating more than 5,100 passing yards in 2019. However, to get there, the quarterback had to complete a league-high 626 pass attempts and chuck 30 interceptions.
Despite the optimism, it was obvious that Winston had likely reached the limit of what he could accomplish for the Bucs. That led the organization to seize the chance when it presented itself and sign Tom Brady, a decision that helped propel the team to its second Super Bowl victory in franchise history.
His motivation for leaving New England to assist the Bucs in reaching the promised land is now clearer to us.
Tom Brady discusses his reasons for leaving New England and moving to Tampa Bay in 2020.
Even though Brady’s three years in Tampa Bay are noteworthy, the majority of NFL observers, players, and fans still don’t know why Brady left New England in the first place. Though there had been a lot of conjecture, no official statement had been made on the subject.
Brady finally corrected the record in the upcoming documentary “The Dynasty,” which follows the ascent and decline of those legendary Patriots teams.
“We did what we loved and competed for 20 years together,” Brady stated. Even if I wanted to play until I was 50, I was not going to sign another contract with New England. I was not going to join up for more of it after the way things had turned out.”
In just his first season as a Buccaneer, Brady, now 43, completed 65.7% of his throws for 4,633 passing yards, 40 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and a 102.2 passer rating. He was simply amazing.
Tampa Bay finished with an 11-5 regular season record, winning the NFC South division. They hosted their Wild-Card game against Washington, which marked the beginning of an incredible postseason run that culminated in a victory in Super Bowl LVI. In order to accomplish this, Brady guided Tampa Bay to their second Super Bowl victory in franchise history, victories over Washington, New Orleans, Green Bay, and Kansas City.
Unsurprisingly, Brady played a key role in their impressive postseason run, finishing with a 98.1 passer rating, 10 touchdowns, 1,061 passing yards, and three interceptions on 58.7% of his passes.
The next year, Brady outperformed the Bucs in their Super Bowl victory, throwing for league-highs of 5,136 passing yards and 43 touchdowns against 12 interceptions on 67.5% completion percentage to help the team win the NFC South and go 13-4 in the regular season. In addition to making the All-Pro Second Team and earning his 15th Pro Bowl, Brady also finished third in the NFL OPOY and second in the NFL AP MVP award.
Brady inked a one-year, $25 million deal to play one more season in Tampa Bay after his contract expired in March 2022. Brady finished 8-9 and managed to sneak into the playoffs as the No. 4 seed in 2022 by completing 66.8% of his throws for 4,694 passing yards, 25 touchdowns, nine interceptions, and a 90.7 passer rating.
The program claimed that Brady was the only well-known Patriot who struggled with comparable problems. Wes Welker, a wide receiver, Matthew Slater, and legendary tight end Rob Gronkowski reportedly discussed the challenges of performing for Belichick and how “brutal” Brady was handled towards the end.
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