Report: Shaq Mason Traded to Buccaneers from Patriots; Reunited with Tom Brady

The New England Patriots are trading guard Shaq Mason to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a fifth-round pick, according to multiple reports:

Mason will help the Bucs replenish at guard after Alex Cappa signed with the Cincinnati Bengals this offseason and Ali Marpet retired.

That trade, alongside the signings of players like center Ryan Jensen and wideout Russell Gage in free agency—and the franchise tag being used on wideout Chris Godwin—should make the recently unretired Tom Brady pretty happy. 

The Patriots, meanwhile, will free up cap space in the deal, though it creates new questions about their depth on the offensive line. 

Mason, 28, played with Brady for five seasons in New England, winning two Super Bowl titles. He's played in 14 or more games in every year of his career. 

Pro Football Focus graded him as the 35th best player in football last season, noting that he played "some of his best football at right guard. Mason has been a run-blocking monster since his college days in a triple-option offense at Georgia Tech. He recorded an 87.2 run-blocking grade this season and allowed 16 pressures across 589 pass-blocking snaps despite blocking for a rookie passer."

That makes his acquisition a relative bargain for the title-chasing Bucs, especially given their lack of depth at guard after the departures of Cappa and Marpet. Brady almost assuredly approves.