Tom Brady’s return has Bucs planning to “reload…

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The Buccaneers had evaluated roughly eight quarterbacks to replace Tom Brady. As it turned out, it was wasted work.

Brady announced his return Sunday. His retirement lasted 40 days.

The Bucs, of course, were happy they left the light on for Brady, releasing statements from General Manager Jason Licht and coach Bruce Arians about the GOAT’s return.

“We are thrilled that Tom has decided to come back this season,” Licht said. “We said we would leave all options open for him should he reconsider his retirement and today’s announcement is something we have been preparing for in recent days. Bruce and I have had plenty of conversations with Tom recently that led us to believe there was a realistic chance he would want to come back. Tom is the greatest quarterback of all time who is still playing at an elite level. With this decision now made, we will continue to move forward with our offseason plans to reload this roster for another championship run.”

Brady will play at least a third season in Tampa. The Bucs won the Super Bowl in his first season in town and lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Rams in the divisional round in 2021.

His presence improves the Bucs’ Super Bowl odds for this season.

“Tom Brady loves to play football as much as anyone I have ever been around,” Arians said. “As Tom said, his place right now is on the football field. He is still playing at a championship level and was as productive as anyone in the league last season. We are ecstatic that he decided to continue playing and working toward winning another championship.”