Bruce Arians Says Bucs Wouldn't Be Against Drafting QB Despite Tom Brady's Contract
April 12, 2021
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady signed a contract extension this offseason that will keep him with the franchise through 2022, but head coach Bruce Arians is still looking ahead at the position.
Arians told reporters that he was open to the idea of the team drafting a quarterback, even with the final pick in the first round of this year's 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," he told reporters.
With the Lombardi Trophy comes the honor of selecting last in the first round, which means Brady's job is likely safe for at least a little longer, as the NFL-ready quarterbacks—namely Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Mac Jones, Justin Fields and Trey Lance—will likely be off the board when the Bucs are first on the clock.
Bleacher Report's NFL Scouting Department ranked Florida's Kyle Trask as the next-best option under center on its latest big board, giving him the No. 127 overall slot. Kellen Mond out of Texas A&M also cracked the top 150, edging in at No. 149.
The Buccaneers hold one pick in each round from the first through the sixth and two in Round 7: Nos. 32, 64, 95, 137, 176, 217, 251 and 259. The sixth-round selection is a compensatory pick. The Bucs traded their sixth-round pick in this year's draft to the Pittsburgh Steelers for Jerald Hawkins and the team's seventh-round pick in 2021 back in 2019.
While Tampa Bay is set at quarterback with Brady, who won his seventh Super Bowl last season and is the first Tampa Bay quarterback to sign a second contract with the franchise, it would be following a trend if it doesn't select a signal-caller.
According to The Athletic's Greg Auman, only eight of the past 15 Super Bowl champions drafted a quarterback in the following year, and those players have combined to throw six career touchdowns.
But while history—and common sense—suggests that the Brady era will continue, Arians didn't rule out the possibility of adding another quarterback April 29.