The Tampa Bay Buccaneers enjoyed a wildly successful free-agent period as they were able to re-sign all 22 starters from the Super Bowl-winning squad of last season. As a continuation of keeping that championship group intact, the Bucs announced on Tuesday that they have re-signed quarterback Ryan Griffin. According to ESPN's Jenna Laine, Griffin's deal is for just one year. Prior to this, Tom Brady was the lone quarterback on Tampa Bay's roster as Griffin and Blaine Gabbert both became unrestricted free agents at the start of the new league year back in March. Now, the Bucs have some depth behind their Super Bowl LV MVP.
After serving as the No. 3 quarterback in 2021, Griffin is currently in line to be the primary backup next season. That said, Laine does report that a potential Gabbert return to Tampa hasn't been ruled out. As things stand at the moment, however, Griffin -- who has been with the Buccaneers since 2015 -- is QB2. The veteran not only has a long history with the franchise but has shown the ability -- in one form or another -- to carry the team in a pinch. The most recent/viral example of that came during the club's Super Bowl boat parade. Griffin was famously seen leading a tipsy Tom Brady away from cameras in which the quarterback later noted was thanks to a little too much avocado tequila.
Noting to see her...just litTle avoCado tequila https://t.co/vew2otBw5T
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) February 10, 2021
As things are still fluid with Gabbert and the backup situation behind Brady, the Buccaneers could also look to add a young quarterback at the 2021 NFL Draft nearly a week from now. Because the club was able to retain so many of its starters in free agency, there aren't that many holes to fill at the draft, thus freeing the franchise up to grab a quarterback to develop for the post-Brady era. That's something that even Bruce Arians didn't rule out.
"If the right guy is there at the right time that we really think has a great future that can sit for a couple years and learn from Tom -- sure," Arians told reporters back in March about possibly taking a QB. "Each round there's going to be one of those guys in that picture."
Naturally, Tom Brady -- who signed an extension with the club earlier this offseason -- is still the main show in Tampa Bay and will now look to replicate the championship season from a year ago. If he's able to go back-to-back, the Bucs would be the first team since Brady's 2003-2004 New England Patriots to repeat as Super Bowl champions. Of course, in the event that they do hoist the Lombardi Trophy again, it'll be good to have Griffin in the fold to help Brady handle his avocado tequila a bit better this time around.
