Jimmy Garoppolo to Buccaneers to replace Tom Brady (it could happen)
By Peter Panacy
Jimmy Garoppolo is a better option than Buccaneers’ backups
Should Tom Brady elect to walk off into the sunset, Tampa Bay’s inherited quarterback situation wouldn’t exactly be a great one.
Brady is still under contract for 2022, yes, but there’s only one other quarterback who’s officially on the roster, 2021 rookie signal-caller Kyle Trask, whom the Buccaneers grabbed at the tail end of Round 2 in last year’s NFL Draft out of Florida.
Trask didn’t see the field last season, as the Bucs left Brady’s backup duties almost exclusively to one former 49ers player, Blaine Gabbert, who’ll be an unrestricted free agent in 2022.
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Trask not being able to beat out Gabbert for the No. 2 spot isn’t necessarily an indictment against the rookie, but it’s not an endorsement either. Tampa Bay certainly can’t feel comfortable with Trask as a long-term option just yet, and it isn’t’ as if Gabbert offers up any kind of confidence either if he’s re-signed on the cheap.
Jimmy Garoppolo has his limits, yes. But, for a Buccaneers team that still has plenty of talent on both sides of the ball, the window to at least compete for a Super Bowl in a post-Brady era would still be there.