TAMPA, Fla. — Is it best for an NFL franchise to listen to their star quarterback?
In the past year, we’ve heard about a disgruntled franchise quarterback who felt slighted after the Houston Texans reportedly failed to deliver on the promises they had made to Deshaun Watson when searching for their next head coach and front office leaders.
Then, Aaron Rodgers was visibly upset when his head coach decided to try a field goal despite the future Hall of Famer wanting to try for a Green Bay Packers touchdown late in the NFC Championship Game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Of course, that all came full circle from the 2020 NFL Draft when the same team selected a potential quarterback of the future instead of an offensive weapon to help their leader of today win now.
Which brings us to today and yet another Aaron Rodgers vs. Packers dust-up as the star quarterback is reportedly fed up with not being listened to by the franchise he’s led to one Super Bowl title and plenty of postseason appearances.
What does this have to do with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? Not much, except they seem to be working with their franchise quarterback − even if he’s only going to be around a short while − better than these other organizations are.
And it led Rich Eisen to ask Jason Licht what the differences are, when the Bucs general manager appeared on his show this week.
Let’s recap, because it applies context to the comparison, and because it’s fun.
Licht and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers brought Tom Brady to Florida in March of 2020. They then promptly traded for his favorite tight end, Rob Gronkowski. Then, with weapons in abundance, the team spent their first-round pick in 2020 on a right tackle of the future and present day.
Following a string of injuries to O.J. Howard, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Scotty Miller, the team decided to give Antonio Brown a chance knowing his past chemistry with their quarterback.
The result? A Super Bowl LV win and nearly an all-star game’s worth of championship caliber players happily re-signing with Tampa Bay, many of them taking less than market value in the process.
So, the clear answer between the two is the Buccaneers must be giving Brady everything Rodgers isn’t getting with Green Bay, right?
Eisen asked Licht this question. Not directly so much, but in a way Licht could give an answer without selling organizational secrets.
“It’s a fair question,” Licht said when probed about how much influence Brady has compared to the perceived lack of input Rodgers has up north. “But he came to our team because of the great coaching we have. The great head coach, and the great players, and he wants to play with great players. There’s never been a conversation, ‘Well, you better get this guy.’ Or, ‘We don’t want that guy.’ Or, I’ve never talked to him about the draft. Bruce [Arians] and I did mention to him leading up to the draft we might take a quarterback. We would do that with any great quarterback, let alone the G.O.A.T. He’s not like that. He’s a great leader and he’s, you know, he’s got the players’ trust and he trusts us.”
So, no, Brady isn’t getting the control Rodgers reportedly wants. Although, I’m wary of some of the assumptions being made about what Rodgers is truly upset about. It’s possible after all, this boils down to respecting greatness.
In a league that literally immortalizes the likeness of its greatest contributors, is it too much to ask an active legend to receive a professional courtesy out of respect?
If you go back to the quote from Licht, he mentions how he and Bucs head coach Bruce Arians let Brady know they could take a quarterback in the 2021 NFL Draft. They didn’t ask his permission or for his blessing. They told him they were considering it. Out of respect, and because they knew the buzz it would create.
According to what we know today, the Green Bay Packers did nothing of the sort with Aaron Rodgers when they drafted Jordan Love. Did they owe him that much? Licht and Arians certainly believed Brady deserved it after just one year together. That much is clear.
Would Rodgers’ reaction have been any different? Would the franchise be in a different state it is now? Hard to tell really. What we can tell though, is how different two franchises are as they get set to embark on their 2021 campaigns.
And if the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are going to be compared to the Green Bay Packers, I for one am happy they’re coming out on the right side of these discussions.
Two teams who both played for a chance to win the trophy named after Green Bay’s greatest coach. Now, they seem miles apart in the state of their futures.
The really strange part is it’s the team with the quarterback on the wrong side of 40 feeling most secure in their situation.
How about that?
For more on this story and for more on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, check out the Locked On Bucs Podcast.