Are Buccaneers in Play for Aaron Rodgers if Tom Brady Retires?

Are you super excited for another offseason of speculating about the futures of Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady? Guess what, it’s here. All signs seem to indicate that Tom Brady is planning to retire (maybe?), and with a fractured relationship between Rodgers and the Packers, some people are looking at Tampa Bay as a potential landing spot

Let’s look at the money

First and foremost, let’s start with Rodgers’ contract and what any potential moves would look like this offseason. Rodgers is under contract for 2022 and carries a hefty $46.6 million cap hit. And no, the Packers aren’t cutting him. That would cost them $26.8 million in dead cap. If there is going to be a deal, the opposing team would need to take on his contract, unless the Packers restructured it to make him easier to deal.

Now for Tampa Bay. They’re not exactly swimming in money. If Brady does retire, which would be the only situation where this possible Rodgers to Tampa Bay thing would have any reason to happen, he’s going to cost the Buccaneers a lot of money. Brady is set to make $10,395,588 next season, while counting $20,270,588 against the cap. 

If he retires, he leaves them high and dry with $30.6 million in dead money. The thought of Tampa Bay tying up $77 million to the quarterback position in 2022 just doesn’t add up. No team can afford that.

What’s most likely to happen?

If I’m putting my money on the most likely situation, it’s that Brady retires and Tampa Bay makes a move in the 2022 NFL Draft. As of right now, the projected cap space for Tampa Bay is only $7.7 million. Brady was a short-term rental that got them a Super Bowl win, and they got exactly what they hoped for out of him. They got the trophy. Now, Tampa Bay will need to begin planning for the future, and will likely have to press the reset button.

As for Green Bay? Nobody knows what’s going on with Rodgers. It’s possible he retires, but would he want to go out the same year as Brady? If Rodgers wants to try and win that elusive second Super Bowl trophy, giving it one last go knowing that Brady is out of the league sounds like a decent route to go. Maybe he follows his offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett to the Denver Broncos for one last go at it.

Regardless of what happens, these rumors of Aaron Rodgers to Tampa Bay don’t seem to have a feasible means of working out. 

You can find all of Jon Helmkamp’s picks here.