Denver Broncos: Was it a mistake not to sign Tom Brady?
The Denver Broncos are—at least right now—rolling with Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater as their quarterbacks heading into the 2021 season. There has been a lot of speculation about other quarterbacks joining the team (Aaron Rodgers and Deshaun Watson).
Now, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback has created some other speculation in a what-could-have-been universe.
In a 29-second preview of a show called The Shop premiering on HBOMax on Friday, Brady recalls a previous encounter with a team that decided to pull themselves out of the Tom Brady Free Agency sweepstakes.
“You’re sticking with that (expletive)?” — Tom Brady, 2021.
It very well could have been the Broncos. Adding Tom Brady would have been a heck of a move and would not have been all that shocking. After all, John Elway—the man who brought some key players to the organization like Peyton Manning, Aqib Talib, DeMarcus Ware, and Emmanuel Sanders—was the general manager of the Broncos at the same time Brady became a free agent in 2020.
Did the Denver Broncos make a mistake in not signing Brady when they had the chance?
There had been speculation that the team was going to select a quarterback in the 2021 NFL Draft but that didn’t happen.
It is no secret that the Broncos would have done a lot to improve their quarterback position. Are they just hyping Drew Lock up now since the other attempts to acquire future Hall of Fame quarterbacks failed?
They could be. Or, they could truly be happy with the quarterback room now.
Adding Tom Brady made the Buccaneers a 7-9 team that placed 3rd in the NFC South to an automatic Super Bowl contender, and guess what? You already know. They won the big game in the end.
Prior to signing Brady, the Buccaneers hadn’t even BEEN to the playoffs since 2007. The Broncos are in a similar boat, having not made the playoffs since winning Super Bowl 50.
Brady has not shown regression despite getting older. He threw 40 touchdowns to just 12 interceptions in his first season with Tampa Bay.
This Denver Broncos team can be very, very good. They have the ability to get to the playoffs if two things happen: The quarterback plays very well, and the key players on both offense and defense stay healthy.
The issue is that for players like Von Miller, Father Time is approaching (Happy belated Father’s Day to everyone).
I am sure that despite their rivalry, Miller and the rest of the Broncos would have loved to have Brady lead them. He proved that he is capable of leading teams to Super Bowls.
Lock wasn’t consistently good in 2020 in his first year as a full-time starter. There were flashes but that doesn’t cut it in the NFL.
It remains to be seen how much longer Brady will decide to play for (because it feels like it will ultimately be his decision in the end). Eventually, the Broncos will either see the big change in Lock or will move on. If/when they move on, Lock’s succeeder likely won’t be anywhere near Brady’s level.
If the Denver Broncos were the team Brady was referring to, it is obvious that it was a huge mistake not signing the player who very well could be the best quarterback in NFL history.