In 2019, the Buccaneers had a solid foundation in place. The foundation became solid enough to attract quarterback Tom Brady to town.
While Brady’s arrival didn’t quite trigger the land rush of free agents that some breathlessly had predicted, Brady led to Rob Gronkowski. Brady led to Antonio Brown. Brady likely contributed to Leonard Fournette.
As it turns out, those three players scored the only four touchdowns of Super Bowl LV.
Throw in kicker Ryan Succop, who also joined the Buccaneers in 2020, and all 31 Tampa Bay points came from players in their first season with the team.
Again, Brady wouldn’t have been there without the kind of team that the Buccaneers already had in place. But Brady became the first major domino that triggered just enough of a boost of the roster to carry the Buccaneers to the top of the mountain.
Now that they’ve made it to the top of the mountain, they’ll try to stay there. Some viewed the Bucs as a one-year wonder. Some are now wondering how long they will be able to keep this going.