Buccaneers Among NFL Teams Expected to Make a Quarterback Move in 2023
With the 2022 NFL season fully underway, it is never too early to speculate about what may happen in the upcoming off-season prior to the start of the 2023 NFL calendar.
In this era of the NFL, it is imperative that teams have a top-notch, franchise quarterback to compete and hopefully lead their respective team to a Super Bowl. Some teams look to tank their seasons to get the top-rated guy in the NFL Draft, while others turn towards free agency or trade to make a move that will most likely improve their team from seasons prior.
We are almost halfway through the current NFL season, so it is never too early to start examining what teams will be at the forefront of making a quarterback move come 2023.
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Per Cody Benjamin, of CBS Sports, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are one of the top 10 teams that are most likely to make a move at the quarterback position. The full list (ranked) can be seen below:
10. Seattle Seahawks
9. Detroit Lions
8. Chicago Bears
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
6. Atlanta Falcons
5. New York Giants
4. New Orleans Saints
3. Houston Texans
2. Washington Commanders
1. Carolina Panthers
The intriguing thing with Cody's list is that all four NFC South teams are represented for making a move at the QB position. The Falcons just picked up Marcus Mariota this last off-season and drafted rookie Desmond Ridder as his backup, so it is hard to necessarily see them making a similar move in 2023. The Panthers now have Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield, who both haven't done anything to make their case to be the QB1 in Carolina, so they could decide to go in a totally different direction considering they fired their head coach and are selling every valuable asset (player) they have. For the Saints, it becomes more difficult to predict what they will do come 2023 as it seems they are not sold on either Jameis Winston nor the 'Red Rifle', Andy Dalton.
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The question for the Buccaneers becomes what is Tom Brady's plans following the 2022-23 NFL season. Last off-season he retired and then quickly changed course and un-retired. Do we finally see Brady leave the game he has spent so much of his life trying to be perfect at? Per Brady, retirement is not an option. Is there always the possibility Brady is lured away from the Bucs by another team? Absolutely.
Per Cody Benjamin, both of the aforementioned scenarios are an option.
"Yes, really. After his 40-day retirement this offseason, Tom Brady will be a free agent after 2022, which means he's got two avenues out of Tampa Bay if he so chooses: retirement (for real), or another relocation. Considering all the smoke around his flirtation with the Dolphins, and the possibility of other historic landing spots emerging (see: San Francisco, depending on Trey Lance's recovery), it's not hard to envision TB12 forcing the Bucs to pivot at the position after three years together."
It is hard to imagine Brady moving onto a third team in his illustrious career, but it is always possible. Many Bucs' fans have already begun the thought process that this could be Brady's last season in Tampa Bay, however, they would prefer retirement than him leaving the organization for another team.
Either way, the Buccaneers may want to keep all their options open depending on how the rest of this season shakes out.
Stick with BucsGameday for more coverage on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout the season.
