NFL Pro Bowler Roasts Buccaneers After Tom Brady’s Retirement

Tom Brady completely turned the Buccaneers around in 2020, so it became easy to forget how Tampa Bay typically fared prior to the quarterback’s arrival.

This notion doesn’t apply to Cameron Jordan, though.

Jordan watched the Bucs miss the playoffs for nine straight seasons after joining the Saints in 2011. Tampa Bay finished under .500 in all but one of those campaigns, including five seasons of five wins or less. But Tampa flipped the script with a Super Bowl triumph in Brady’s first season behind center in Central Florida and it won the NFC South the following two campaigns.

The Pro Bowl defensive end and his New Orleans teammates no longer have to worry about Brady, who announced his retirement Wednesday. While the Bucs still have some nice pieces in place, Jordan is expecting a sharp decline in Tampa.

“We salute him and wish him the best in whatever endeavor that is,” Jordan told NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe in Las Vegas on Saturday. “We’re glad that he’s out of the division, you know? Tampa Bay will probably go back to where Tampa Bay’s been.”

Oddsmakers also aren’t expecting the 2023 Bucs to contend for a Super Bowl. Eighteen teams currently have shorter odds at DraftKings Sportsbook than Tampa Bay to hoist the Lombardi Trophy next season.