Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have greatly underperformed through eight weeks, but that doesn’t mean the organization is going to be a buyer ahead of the NFL trade deadline.
The Buccaneers, who have lost three straight following their Week 8 defeat to the Baltimore Ravens, instead reportedly will look to retool with their internal options returning to health.
“The Buccaneers are struggling after Thursday night’s loss to the Ravens. Tom Brady is two games under .500 for the first time in his career. But the expectation that we all have here is that there won’t be any big moves for the Bucs before the trade deadline on Tuesday,” NFL Media’s Mike Garafolo said on the network Sunday afternoon.
“There’s nothing bubbling up at last check,” Garafolo continued. “The fact is they’ve got four defensive starters who were out this past weekend, four defensive key contributors. Those guys are going to come back, it will almost feel like a bunch of acquisitions. And as far as the offensive side of the ball, Brady announced his divorce the other day. They’re hopeful with the mini bye they’ve got he can reset mentally, the entire team can reset mentally. And they feel like they’re going to be OK.”
Fellow NFL Media colleague Ian Rapoport reported much of the same Sunday.
“… General manager Jason Licht has always been someone looking to swing big and improve his team. However, my understanding is no major changes are expected in Tampa, absent some sort of unforeseen offer or deal that is not currently out there,” Rapoport said on NFL Network’s “NFL GameDay.”
Brady and the 3-5 Buccaneers currently sit just one game back of the lowly NFC South with a playoff pursuit still more than manageable. Tampa Bay will host the Los Angeles Rams in a Week 9 contest.
The NFL trade deadline is Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET.
