Tag: Brady

Jan 16, 2023; Tampa, Florida, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) meet after the wild card game at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Cowboys, Browns and Brady featured in Week 1 matchup

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Tom Brady and two of the NFL’s highest-paid quarterbacks will gather Week 1 of the 2024 season in Cleveland.

Brady, in his regular-season broadcasting debut with FOX, was part of the announcement Monday night when he confirmed alongside new booth partner Kevin Burkhardt that they would call the Cowboys at Browns in Week 1, a 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff.

Brady and Michael Strahan, the former Giants defensive end and part of FOX’s studio show, briefly discussed the matchup and Brady offered a good-natured ribbing of Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.

“Let’s see if he can finally come through,” said Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl champion. “Did that just slip out?”

The Cowboys posted a 12-5 record in 2023 with Prescott leading the NFL in touchdown passes with 36. Dallas lost in the playoffs to the Green Bay Packers.

Prescott is in the final season of a four-year, $160 million contract. He would be a free agent if the two sides fail to reach a contract extension before March and cannot be retained on the franchise tag.

Cleveland reached the playoffs last seaon as a wild-card team with Joe Flacco operating the offense. Deshaun Watson underwent season-ending shoulder surgery in October and spent the offseason rehabbing. His health is a critical storyline for the Browns ahead of training camp.

–Field Level Media

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) reacts to his second touchdown to regain the lead against the Chiefs.

Bills QB Josh Allen wants OC, HC back in 2024

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Business is about to get more expensive for the Buffalo Bills.

A salary cap crunch created by the ballooning cap hit of quarterback Josh Allen is among chief concerns entering the offseason. Allen and the Bills lost in the divisional playoff round for the third consecutive season and bowed out without reaching the Super Bowl for the fifth straight year.

“Still doesn’t feel real that we’re not practicing today,” Allen said Monday when asked how he’ll spend his offseason.

The Kansas City Chiefs eliminated the Bills from the playoffs in a 27-24 dogfight in Buffalo on Sunday.

Allen finished a two-game postseason run this month with four touchdown passes and three TD runs. A potential game-tying field goal by Tyler Bass sailed wide right, but Allen said Monday the collective missed opportunities in all phases add up to his team heading home while Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs get ready for another AFC title game.

“I believe in what we have going on here and the people in charge,” Allen said, adding he fully embraces bringing back offensive coordinator Joe Brady. “All signs are pointing up with this team.”

Allen said he’s witnessed growth from head coach Sean McDermott and wants to continue playing for him.

“Losing is never fun. The reason why you play this game is you don’t want to feel this way. When you feel this way, it makes winning that much more special. We’re not going to run from this. We’re going to take it on the chin,” Allen said. “Continue to learn. Get better. … We’re just like (fans), we want to win. We’re going to keep fighting and keep working as hard as we can until we are that one team. Long road ahead, long offseason.”

The cost is going up for Allen in particular. His cap figure this season was $18.6 million, but leaps to $47.1 million in 2024. Wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who didn’t speak with the media following the loss, brings a cap charge of nearly $28 million. But the Bills could save in the neighborhood of $20 million by trading Diggs after June 1.

“This feeling right here is what you’ve got to remember going forward,” tight end Dawson Knox said. “We’ve won the division four years in a row. We’ve made the playoffs five years in a row. But this feels nowhere near satisfying. … This feeling of coming up short, is important to just marinate and motivate you for next year.”

As the cap stands, Buffalo projects to be at least $42 million over the 2024 threshold. Unrestricted free agency awaits key contributors with expiring deals, including defensive tackle Ed Oliver, defensive end Leonard Floyd, safety Micah Hyde and cornerback Rasul Douglas, a trade deadline acquisition from the Green Bay Packers.

–Field Level Media

Nov 13, 2023; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Gabe Davis (13) runs with the ball after making a catch against the Denver Broncos during the second half at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

Bills WR Gabe Davis on OC change: ‘Behind Dorsey 100 percent’

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Gabe Davis openly defends fired coordinator Ken Dorsey and takes offense to suggestions he was to blame for the team’s downturn in production.

“It’s on us players to go out there and play at a high level and execute,” Davis said Thursday.

Davis said the “offense is the offense” and there are no major changes coming after the Bills decided to move on from Dorsey and install Joe Brady as the coordinator on Tuesday. He said he’s in a “weird space” and is trying to find answers in “harsh truth.”

“If anyone tries to blame one guy, they definitely don’t know what they’re talking about,” Davis said. “He put me in the best position last week to go and catch a runner. It went through my hands. Where in that does that get put on Dorsey? There are things out there that we created. … In reality, we’re just going through a little adversity. It’s just been tough. I definitely have defended Dorsey 100 percent. It takes a team. You ask any of these guys, and we’re behind him 100 percent.

“We’re 5-5. We’ve lost five games (by) 23 points totals. With the amount of bad plays, the amount of turnovers. There’s been games we’ve made a lot of mistakes and yet we’re still in it.”

Quarterback Josh Allen leads the NFL with 11 interceptions and had two picks Monday in a 24-22 loss to the Denver Broncos (4-5). Allen said Dorsey would still be the coordinator if he was performing to his own expectations.

“I take that very personally,” he said. “It hurts a lot to see someone you care about go through a situation like that and to know that if I could have done more, if this offense could have done more, we wouldn’t have had to do something like that.”

Davis said all of the questions asked by media and other pundits are questions they’re asking themselves.

“There’s some accountability we all have to take that we are where we are. We all have hands in it,” said Davis, who has 33 catches for 490 yards and five scores. “We all have to figure out how we can do better.”

–Field Level Media

Sep 25, 2022; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) and Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) greet after the game at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Report: Jets won’t try to lure Tom Brady out of retirement

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The New York Jets will not ask a seven-time Super Bowl champion to replace a four-time Most Valuable Player.

The Athletic reported Wednesday that Tom Brady coming out of retirement to replace injured quarterback Aaron Rodgers isn’t one of the options head coach Robert Saleh and the Jets are discussing.

Brady, 46, has made it clear to people close to him that he is finished with football, per the report.

Saleh confirmed Tuesday that 2021 first-round pick Zach Wilson is “our quarterback” and there is no competition heading into Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas.

Rodgers, 39, played just four snaps in his much-anticipated Jets debut on Monday night against the Buffalo Bills before sustaining a torn left Achilles tendon, ending his season.

Wilson, the No. 2 overall pick in 2021, replaced Rodgers and completed 14 of 21 passes for 140 yards with one touchdown and one interception. The Jets defeated the Bills 22-16 in overtime on undrafted rookie Xavier Gipson’s 65-yard punt return.

Tim Boyle is the only other quarterback on New York’s roster, leaving the Jets to shop around this week for a veteran free agent.

–Field Level Media

(file photo) Tom Brady talks with owner Robert Kraft before a preseason game in August 2019.

Bill Belichick: Tom Brady deserves more than one appreciation night

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Celebrating Tom Brady tops the Week 1 itinerary for the New England Patriots. From the sound of it, head coach Bill Belichick expects the ceremony to be just the beginning.

“Look forward to seeing him and I’m sure there will be a lot of excitement at the game, in the stands as there should be,” Belichick said Monday in an interview with WEEI radio. “He’s done an awful lot for this organization, for this franchise, for this city, the National Football League.

“One night’s really not enough, anywhere close to being enough for the appreciation for what Tom deserves.”

Brady spent his first 20 seasons with the Patriots and wrote a storied legacy alongside Belichick and team owner Robert Kraft. Brady and Belichick won 17 division titles, played in the AFC Championship game 13 times and made nine appearances in the Super Bowl with six Lombardi trophies.

New England opens at home Sept. 10 against the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles. Brady will be honored at halftime.

When Brady left via free agency to sign with the Buccaneers in 2020, there were indications of a fracture in the coach-QB relationship partially tied to Brady’s loyalty to his personal trainer.

But Belichick maintained positive praise for Brady when he won a seventh Super Bowl title in a 10th appearance in his first season in Tampa, and thanked him again when he retired in February — this time, Brady says, for good.

Belichick kept the kudos coming on Monday.

“It was a great opportunity for me,” he said of coaching Brady. “I feel very fortunate to have coached Tom, Lawrence Taylor, Matt Slater. That’s the three top players at their position: offense, defense, special teams, I think in the history of the game, and that’s pretty — I feel pretty lucky as a coach. Great players make great coaches, and I’ve been very fortunate. There’s been a lot of great players along the way. I’m not taking anything away from anybody else. But those three are special.”

Asked if Brady deserved a statue at Gillette Stadium, Belichick said, “Give him whatever he wants, yeah.”

–Field Level Media

Feb 28, 2023; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles during the NFL combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Todd Bowles: Bucs can still win without Tom Brady

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles addressed the elephant in the room on Sunday, although the “animal” in question is more appropriately referred to as the “G.O.A.T.”

Bowles spoke of his team’s expectations at quarterback in the wake of Tom Brady’s retirement.

“When you replace a player of that magnitude, first of all, you don’t replace him,” Bowles told NFL Network of Brady’s departure from the team. “You lose aura. You lose the expectation of being great. That doesn’t mean you can’t be great. You just have to do it more as a team. We did it as a team when he was there, but he was such a great player and a great person that you focus all on that. And now that that is gone, the perception is that everything else is gone when really it isn’t.

“We have a lot of good players on our team on both sides of the ball. We have some pieces to fill, but we have a lot of good football players on our team. And we just have to understand that and not go with the so-called outside narrative and do what we have to do to win ball games.”

With Brady retired, all eyes will shift to free-agent acquisition Baker Mayfield and in-house candidate Kyle Trask at the quarterback position.

“I liked Baker when he was coming out,” Bowles said of the former Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft.

“We kind of hit it off when I was with the Jets. I went down to Oklahoma and we had this vibe between us. And not to say he had the strongest arm and everything else, but he’s a leader. He has great understanding of the football game. He knows where to go with the football. And he has moxie. He’s a guy’s guy. The players love to be around him, and they will fight for him because he’s a winner.”

“… So, between him and Trask, I have no doubt that one of them will come out and be successful.”

Tampa Bay is Mayfield’s fourth team in three years. The 27-year-old helped his chances by finishing last season strong after being claimed by the Los Angeles Rams.

Trask, 25, completed 3 of 9 pass attempts for 23 yards in one game last season. He was picked in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

–Field Level Media

Jan 1, 2023; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams quarterback Baker Mayfield (17) throws the ball in the first half against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Reports: Bucs to sign Baker Mayfield as Tom Brady replacement

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Quarterback Baker Mayfield agreed to a deal with the Buccaneers that presents the former No. 1 overall pick an opportunity to start, according to multiple reports.

Tampa Bay would become Mayfield’s fourth team in three years. The 27-year-old helped his chances by finishing last season strong after being claimed by the Los Angeles Rams.

The Buccaneers lost Tom Brady to his second, apparently official, retirement at the end of the 2022 season and are in the midst of a major roster overhaul due to salary cap restrictions.

Mayfield was drafted No. 1 by the Cleveland Browns in 2018 and became expendable with the team’s acquisition of Deshaun Watson last year. He was traded to the Carolina Panthers and opened the season as the starter before injury and ineffectiveness pushed him into a backup role.

As a rookie with the Browns, Mayfield had 27 touchdowns with 14 interceptions and had nine games with multiple TD passes. He had 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 2020 before fighting through an injury-riddled 2021 season that prompted general manager Andrew Berry to kick the tires on a trade with the Houston Texans to add Watson.

With the Rams, Mayfield helped lead a game-winning drive two days after Los Angeles claimed him via waivers.

Mayfield’s 23-yard touchdown pass to Van Jefferson with 10 seconds left stunned the Las Vegas Raiders, 17-16, in Week 14. He threw a total of four touchdowns with two interceptions and was sacked 17 times in five games with the Rams.

The Buccaneers were left with one quarterback, Kyle Trask, on the roster when Brady retired in February. Blaine Gabbert, the No. 2 quarterback for the Bucs last season, is an unrestricted free agent.

–Field Level Media

Jan 16, 2023; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) walks off the field in the final minute against the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth quarter during a wild card game at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

Bruce Arians: Tom Brady’s personal life impacted ’22 Bucs

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Tom Brady dealt with an in-season divorce and other distractions that factored into the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finishing 8-9 last season, Bruce Arians said on Friday.

Arians said in an interview with Rich Eisen of NFL Network that Brady’s second retirement likely is for good after watching him navigate a reversal of his February 2022 announcement. Brady came back to the Buccaneers 40 days after announcing his first retirement, which the New York Post reported was the driving factor in his divorce from wife Gisele Bundchen. Their divorce became final in October.

“The injuries to our leaders was really, really hard,” said Arians, who held the role of senior consultant with the Buccaneers last season but was Brady’s head coach for the previous two years.

“Tom wasn’t himself, you know, with all the things that were going on. And I got to give him all the credit in the world for battling through what he went through last year for his teammates. I think the world of him but it wasn’t the real Tom Brady out there.”

Arians said he believes the Buccaneers should ride with Kyle Trask at quarterback, while also investigating other options. It’s the same approach he suggested to general manager Jason Licht in 2020, when the team was in contact with incumbent starter Jameis Winston while also pursuing conversations with Brady and then-New Orleans Saints free agent Drew Brees.

“I think we’re in good hands with Kyle Trask,” Arians said. “I love Kyle, he’s been there two years now. Blaine Gabbert was a great mentor for him. But just like three years ago, you’ve got to search what’s behind door No. 2. Three years ago, we never would’ve guessed Tom Brady was behind door No. 2. So you do your research, you do all your homework, and then you decide what’s best for you. But right now, I’m very comfortable if Kyle’s our guy.

“… And he’s worked extremely hard every single day. He’s got all the size, he’s got the arm, he’s got the stature of what we like.”

Arians is extremely confident Brady is not behind any of the doors the Buccaneers will encounter in free agency this time around.

“He’s spent a lot of time with his kids and just heading to the next chapter. He’s got so many things going on, you know, he’s one busy dude,” Arians said.

–Field Level Media

Jan 16, 2023; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) takes the field before a wild card game against the Dallas Cowboys at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

Reports: Tom Brady files retirement papers, Bucs take $35M cap hit

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Tom Brady filed his retirement paperwork with the NFL and NFL Players Association on Friday, several reports said, cementing the seven-time Super Bowl winner’s Feb. 1 announcement that his playing days were over.

Brady retired last winter, walked it back 40 days later and played one final season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Buccaneers got three seasons with Brady, winning a Super Bowl in his first year on the scene and losing in the playoffs the next two seasons.

Now the bill has come due for Tampa Bay, as it will take a full $35 million dead-cap hit in 2023 as a result of Brady’s retirement.

Had Brady worked with the Bucs on a contract amendment to keep Brady on the books with so-called voidable years and processed his retirement after June 1, they would have been able to split the dead-cap hit between 2023 and 2024. Instead, multiple reports said, all $35 million will be assessed in 2023, putting Tampa Bay nearly $60 million over the salary cap.

The team’s remaining options at quarterback as of now are Kyle Trask and unrestricted free agent Blaine Gabbert.

Brady played in the Super Bowl 10 times — or 18 percent of all Super Bowls to date — was a three-time NFL Most Valuable Player and a 15-time Pro Bowl selection. He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots before joining the Buccaneers ahead of the 2020 season.

–Field Level Media

September 18, 2022; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance (5) during the first quarter against the Seattle Seahawks at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Trey Lance favored to open ’23 as 49ers’ starter over Brock Purdy

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The San Francisco 49ers avoided a worst-case scenario with quarterback Brock Purdy, who will have surgery to repair his torn ACL rather than Tommy John surgery.

Rather than being sidelined up to a year, Purdy is expected to miss six months and be ready for training camp.

That still means the last pick in the 2022 draft who won his first seven starts as a rookie will miss the team’s offseason program. And at least one sportsbook believes that gives Trey Lance the inside track to be the 49ers starter to open next season.

Lance is being offered as the -500 favorite by PointsBet to start Week 1 next season ahead of Purdy (+300). The only other player being offered odds on is recently retired Tom Brady at +5000.

Lance, the third overall pick in the 2021 draft, has thrown a total of 102 passes across his first two NFL seasons. That’s 68 fewer than Purdy, who was thrust into the starting job midway through his rookie year after Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a foot injury in Week 13.

Garoppolo was filling in for Lance, who suffered a season-ending broken ankle in Week 2.

Now it’s Lance who finds himself as the focal point of the 49ers’ offseason, with coach Kyle Shanahan saying last week that he doesn’t see a scenario in which the team brings Garoppolo back. The sportsbook isn’t even offering odds on Garoppolo opening next season under center for San Francisco.

Lance, who declared for the NFL draft after North Dakota State moved its COVID-delayed 2020 season to the following spring, has played eight football games in the past three years. That includes going 2-2 as a starter for the 49ers while completing just 54.9 percent of his career NFL passes with five touchdowns and three interceptions.

It’s an incredibly small sample size for a team coming off a run to the NFC Championship on the shoulders of their third-string quarterback from training camp.

That’s why many believe the job should be Purdy’s — if “Mr. Irrelevant” from last year’s draft is healthy. That includes the best quarterback in franchise history.

“If Purdy’s healthy I think it’s his job,” Montana said Wednesday, per ProFootballTalk.com.

Lance will receive the bulk of the reps with the first team during the offseason program, but Montana believes his overall body of work remains too small to be trusted at the helm of a Super Bowl-caliber offense.

“I don’t think he’s ready yet,” Montana said. “I don’t think he’s ready to take that caliber team. Talented kid, and he might be, part way through the year if he gets more starts.

“I don’t know, but do you want to turn over a team that you want to get off to a great start with a guy you still have a question about?”

–Field Level Media