Getty Images Tom Brady of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
A variety of quarterback options have been floated for the Cleveland Browns this offseason, but one of the more interesting “road maps” for the AFC North squad is luring Tom Brady out of retirement for one more run at the Super Bowl.
Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com championed the idea of bringing Brady to Cleveland, laying out how the team could make it happen on a recent episode of the “Orange and Brown Talk” podcast.
“I would be on the phone with Tom Brady’s agent, and I would give him whatever amount of money he wants for 2022,” Cabot said. “I would throw everything at him — every dollar you can scrape together. Then you still have your first-round pick. You can get Garrett Wilson, and Chris Godwin would probably want to sign here. Gronk would want to come here. My road map just came to life.”
Initially, the take drew a few laughs on the podcast, but Cabot said she was serious, going into detail on why Cleveland makes sense for Brady.
“Regardless of what Johnny Manziel and Braylon Edwards say, I think Gisele and Tom would love it in Cleveland,” Cabot said. “If he wanted to go to a place where he thinks he legitimately thought he could win a Super Bowl, you’d want a really good defense with one of the best pass-rushers in the NFL, wouldn’t you? You would want to have a really good offensive line, with two of the best guards in the NFL and some good tackles. You would also want to have two of the best running backs in the NFL. You know you need some receivers, but you would be promised that.”
Brady Has Said He’s ‘Content’ With Decision
Brady announced his retirement on February 1, stepping away from the game after 22 seasons and seven Super Bowls. It was a somewhat surprising decision, considering Brady played like an MVP, passing for 43 touchdowns and just six interceptions.
However, the Bucs were bounced in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs, and reports of tension between Brady and head coach Bruce Arians have emerged. He reiterated on the February 22 episode of the “Let’s Go!” podcast that he’s comfortable with his decision to step away from the game.
“I’m super content and happy with how I feel in my decision. All you can do is take it day by day; nothing’s promised for us,” Brady said. “I’m gonna do things I really enjoy and spend time with people that I really enjoy spending time with. So the future is bright.”
And even if he did come back, there’s a belief he’d stick with Tampa Bay.
“If he wants to play, they believe he would play here because at 45, does he really want to go to another team, learn a new offense, new players, all of that?” Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times said on “The Rich Eisen Show” on February 24.
Browns Have Backed Baker Mayfield as Starter
Mayfield is coming off an inconsistent year where he was bugged by a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder. He was injured in Week 2 while attempting to make a tackle on an interception. Mayfield passed for 17 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, with more than half of those coming in the final three games Mayfield played in.
Despite his struggles, the Browns expressed confidence after the season that Mayfield can turn things around.
“We fully expect Baker to be our starter and bounce back,” Berry told reporters. “Generally speaking, we are looking forward to Baker obviously getting healthy in the offseason and then putting good work into the spring and with his coaches for having the type of season we know he can have moving forward.”