On the morning of February 1st, the seven-time Super Bowl Champion Tom Brady announced his retirement via Instagram. After 22 years in the NFL, the legendary quarterback has called it quits. 

“I’ve done a lot of reflecting the past week and have asked myself difficult questions,” Brady wrote. “And I am so proud of what we have achieved. My teammates, coaches, fellow competitors, and fans deserve 100% of me, but right now, it’s best I leave the field of play to the next generation of dedicated and committed athletes,” said Brady

On the evening of January 29, Adam Schefter reported that the 15-time Pro Bowler would hang up his cleats. However, through multiple reports as well as a response from his father, the report came out to be false. 

“Tom Brady called the Bucs late this afternoon to inform them he’s not even close to making a decision about retirement, according to a source,” reported Jeff Howie. 

After multiple reports denying Schefter’s announcement, Brady broke his own news on his Instagram with a long statement thanking fans, teammates, his parents and all coaches throughout his extraordinary career. 

“To my Bucs teammates the past two years, I love you guys, and I have loved going to battle with you. You have dug so deep to challenge yourself, and it inspired me to wake up every day and give you my best. I am always here for you guys and want to see you continue to push yourselves to be your best. I couldn’t be happier with what we accomplished together,” said Brady. 

The only silver lining for the Bucs is the time of his announcement. Brady’s retirement before the Super Bowl leaves Tampa Bay nearly three months to find their next quarterback in the 2022 NFL draft. 

“If the right guy is there that we think is a developmental guy that has the upside that outweighs every other position of those five or six guys that we’re looking at, then we wouldn’t be against it,” said Bruce Arians, head coach of the Buccaneers. 

Another option for Tampa Bay is to look into the free agency market. With trade options including Russel Wilson, Aaron Rodgers, Derek Carr and Jimmy Garropalo, Tampa has a chance to stay in contention with available veterans. In addition to the trade market, free agency may be a possibility which includes former Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston.

“I’d be comfortable if it is. I like what we have,” Arians said regarding whether the Buccaneers’ next starting quarterback is on his current roster. “Again, you never know what’s behind door No. 2. We kind of went down that road and it was Tom Brady. We’ll have to wait and see.” 

The answer for Tampa Bay remains to be seen. How do you replace a player of Brady’s legacy? Options are numerous, but with a team full of veterans ready to win, the clock is ticking.

“We’re losing a legend in Tom, and no one wants to lose a legend, but the lessons that he’s provided with these guys with just his actions and his leadership are going to continue to build on it,” said Jason Licht.