The quarterback position is inherently a leadership role on any football team so it's hardly a surprise to hear that a signal-caller is named captain of their given club. That said, with Tom Brady, it is notable that he's quickly established himself as a leader with the Buccaneers, months after signing with them in free agency. On Tuesday, Tampa Bay officially named the six-time Super Bowl champion quarterback one of their two offensive captains for the 2020 season alongside receiver Mike Evans.
Of course, Brady is no stranger to being a team captain as he held that title for 18 seasons while a member of the New England Patriots and leading them to Super Bowl contention in essentially each year he was starting under center. While Brady comes to Tampa already being considered the greatest quarterback of all-time, which brings about a built-in leadership aura, it is impressive that he has been able to become a clear leader within the Bucs locker room essentially from the jump.
"When he speaks, everyone listens," said Buccaneers tight end O.J. Howard of Brady's leadership back in mid-August. "That's the type of leadership ability that he has. Like I said, he does a lot of coaching. The thing about it is, he coaches up everyone at one time. He likes certain routes ran certain ways and when guys can listen and we can get the job done and stay on the same page that he's on, he can trust [us] and make that throw. [He can] make a throw that he may not see 100 percent clearly, but he should expect you to be in the position that he's always been telling us about over and over again. I think when he does that, it sticks with you. It gets in the heads of all the receivers and tight ends, and we're always on the same page. That's just a different type of leadership that I see from Tom."
Brady was the clear face of New England for two decades and was able to lead them to nine Super Bowl appearances and claim six Lombardi Trophies over the course of his historic tenure in Foxborough. Now, he'll be looking to bring that same level of leadership, experience and production to Tampa as he dons the "C" on his shoulder.
Meanwhile, the Buccaneers also named linebackers Lavonte David and Devin White as defensive captains, and punter Bradley Pinion and linebacker Kevin Minter are special teams captains.
