Bucs' Rob Gronkowski: Tom Brady's Arm Stronger Than It Was When I Entered NFL

If Tom Brady has lost any zip on his passes, Rob Gronkowski hasn't noticed.

Gronk told reporters Thursday that Brady's arm may have gotten even stronger since the tight end arrived in the league.

Brady's arm strength has been the narrative of the week in Tampa Bay. The quarterback said his arm is as "in-shape as it ever has been" in an interview with Peter King of NBC Sports.

"I feel really good," Brady said. "I think my arm is strong and is good and is as in-shape as it has ever been. I think every offense demands some different things and everybody has a different belief on how to move the ball downfield and score points."

To be fair, Brady and Gronkowski weren't going to say his arm has become a microwaved ramen noodle. In the NFL offseason, everyone is in the "best shape of his life" or "feeling better than ever."

For Brady's sake, he better hope he hasn't lost any arm strength. Assuming coach Bruce Arians sticks to his offensive tendencies, Brady will be attempting more downfield passes than he ever has—save, perhaps, the historic 2007 season when he was teammates with deep threat Randy Moss.

Jameis Winston averaged 10.5 intended air yards per attempt last season, per Next Gen Stats, the second-highest rate in the NFL and almost three more yards than Brady (7.6). A commitment to downfield passing has been a staple for Arians at every NFL stop as a head coach or offensive coordinator. The quick checkdowns to running backs that have been a regular part of New England's offense for the last half-decade likely won't be there in Tampa.

"In a really condensed format that we have, we're really trying to get on the same page—myself, Byron [Leftwich], BA [Bruce Arians]—trying to really understand each other," Brady said. "They obviously know how I've done things; I'm trying to understand how they do things so that it can be as efficient as possible."

Even if Brady's arm strength is capable of making the throws, there are legitimate concerns about his accuracy at age 43. He completed under 60 percent of his throws in seven of his final eight games as a Patriot and completed just 60.8 percent of his passes in the 2019 season, a drop of 5 percentage points from 2018.