Where were you when Tom Brady decided to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers?
Bucs quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen was playing golf, apparently alongside Tampa Bay general manager Jason Licht and head coach Bruce Arians.
The Athletic’s Bob Kravitz recently asked Christensen what it was like when he learned Brady — who had spent his entire 20-year NFL career with the New England Patriots — would be joining the Buccaneers in free agency. The coach’s answer paints an interesting picture.
“OK, so we were playing golf, we were on the ninth hole at (Tampa’s) Old Memorial, on a hard par 5. Our GM (Jason Licht) gets off the phone and tells us the thing’s been agreed upon,” Christensen said, according to Kravitz. “There’s Bruce in his Kangol hat, looking as cool as always, he gets up there, rips a couple of perfect 3-woods and knocks in a 30-foot putt for birdie. Can you believe that?”
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Christensen, who also coached Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck during his time with the Indianapolis Colts, sure sounds excited to have Brady in Tampa Bay. And understandably so. Although Brady didn’t have his best season in 2019, he’s still the greatest quarterback in NFL history and a true leader in every sense of the word.
“Everything I’ve seen, everybody I’ve talked to, they tell me he (Brady) just makes people better,” Christensen said, per Kravitz. “That’s what the great ones do. The cafeteria gets better. The equipment room gets better. The coaches get better. I don’t know if it’s necessarily a second act as much as it’s a new challenge for him. It’s going to be great to get started. I’m ready. There’s only so much golf you can play.”
Brady will have no shortage of weapons in 2020. Not only did the Bucs already boast a talented pass-catching corps highlighted by Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate. They also added Brady’s longtime teammate, Rob Gronkowski, in a trade with the Patriots after the tight end decided to end his retirement.
It’ll be interesting to see how everything comes together with Brady entering his age-43 season. The Bucs might deploy a similar offensive game plan in 2020, but Brady’s decision-making could lead to a marked improvement after Tampa Bay’s 2019 campaign was plagued by Jameis Winston’s inconsistency under center.
