Tom Brady almost went to Saints before Drew Brees returned

Tom Brady looked at the Saints before Drew Brees came back.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints are scheduled to lock horns this afternoon, as Tom Brady and Drew Brees will do battle as NFC South rivals for the first time. Brady wearing pewter and red might be unusual enough, but there was a time this offseason where he was almost going to wear black and gold.

According to Jay Glazer, Brady was looking at joining Sean Payton and New Orleans early in the offseason. However, he waited for Brees to make the first move, and he naturally backed off once Brees confirmed that he was returning to the Saints for what could be his final season in the NFL.

Tom Brady will face off against Drew Brees in his first game as a Buccaneer

Brady opted to join Tampa Bay, who let their own 2019 starting quarterback in Jameis Winston head to Louisiana to serve as Brees’ backup. Immediately after they added Brady and traded for the recently unretired Rob Gronkowski, Tampa became one of the most lethal offenses in the league.

One of the few teams that can match that amount of firepower is Brees‘ Saints given the presence of Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas.

While Brees and the Saints have Pro Bowlers littered all over the defense, they will have their hands full this evening, as Brady’s arm, Tampa’s skill position players, and Arians’ unique offensive mind might be too difficult for Dennis Allen to overcome.

Brady’s surgical precision on short passes paired with a Payton offense that helps accentuate short accuracy better than any other scheme in the league would’ve been a match made in heaven, but Bucs fans will instead get to see Brady chuck it deep for Arians in his first of two seasons in Tampa.