Jason Licht Reflects on Buccaneers Signing Tom Brady

Don't get it confused, Buccaneers' general manager Jason Licht is excited about Tampa Bay's long-term outlook.

Recapping the season-to-date in preparation for hosting the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV next Sunday, Licht provided insight as to how he got the organization to this point. He pointed to youth across the defense, particularly in the secondary, at wide receiver, and on the offensive line as reasons for Tampa Bay's success and optimism about the future.

However, Licht acknowledges the fact that signing quarterback Tom Brady put his roster over the top.

“Naturally, I think you envision it every year in the offseason. You want to make some moves that hopefully get your team into the Super Bowl," Licht shared on Wednesday. "I think when you sign a guy like Tom, it makes it a little more realistic."

Indeed. The Buccaneers were a respectable team on paper before the idea of Brady leaving the New England Patriots ever came close to reality. Quarterback Jameis Winston's inconsistency hindered the team and made one thing clear: If the talented team that Licht put together wanted to win, it needed a new signal-caller.

So, Licht turned around and acquired the greatest quarterback in NFL history. After making the playoffs 17 times during his time with the Patriots, Brady began a new chapter in Florida and aimed to elevate a skillful Bucs squad.

"Just talking to him the days after we signed him, you could just hear and feel the confidence that he had. It made it a little bit more real," said Licht. "Now, you never take anything for granted. We had some highs and lows in the season where things at times looked a little grim. We needed to pull together, but we never lost our confidence."

The Buccaneers entered the bye week with a 7-5 record, going 1-3 in its final four games of the opening stretch. That's when Tampa Bay was able to pull together. After the idle week, the Buccaneers offense went on a roll, averaging 37 points per contest across a four-game winning streak.

Brady would finish the season by entrenching himself in the Buccaneers' history books, breaking Winston's single-season passing touchdown record, now set at 40 which is the second-most of any season in Brady's career. He'd complete 65.7% of his passes for 4,633 yards.

That momentum carried into the playoffs, leading the No. 5 seed Buccaneers to three road postseason wins and advancing to their first Super Bowl appearance since 2003.

"Looking back on some of the things we talked about, you do kind of want to pinch yourselves a little bit saying, ‘Wow, this really did happen,’" Licht exclaimed. "I can’t think of one particular time or one particular conversation that we had, but there were a lot among all of us.”